The Foundation for Medical Services has issued a three-day call for the purchase, delivery and installation of a modular extendable pre-fabricated hospital which must be up and running within eight weeks.
Wuhan in China, which was the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, built a similar prefabricated hospital with capacity for 1,000 patients in just nine days.
A Maltese nurse has taken a stand against the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) in a social media post saying that the union is attempting to “take advantage of a delicate situation”.
Bernard Gatt, a staff nurse who works at Mater Dei Hospital, took to social media to decry the latest set of demands made by the MUMN, with his post attracting a significant amount of attention and support from a number of nurses and others in the medical field.
With masks, ventilators and political goodwill in desperately short supply, more than one-fifth of the world’s population was ordered or urged to stay in their homes Monday at the start of what could be a pivotal week in the battle to contain the coronavirus in the U.S. and Europe.
Partisan divisions stalled efforts to pass a colossal aid package in Congress, and stocks fell again on Wall Street even after the Federal Reserve said it will lend to small and large businesses and local governments to help them through the crisis.
People who test positive for coronavirus and are ordered to self-isolate will be fined €10,000 every time they disobey orders, the government announced on Monday evening.
Persons who have the Covid-19 virus, and who do not need to be admitted to hospital, are required to stay in isolation under medical observation.
Italy has recorded a smaller day-to-day increase in new coronavirus cases for the second straight day, officials said while cautioning it was too soon to know if the worst is behind the country with the world's second-biggest caseload.
Data released by Italy's Civil Protection agency on Monday showed 4,789 new cases, nearly 700 fewer than the day-to-day increase of 5,560 new cases reported Sunday.
The European Parliament is working with member states to ensure that the EU can buy ventilators, masks and other medical equipment to be put at the disposal of hospitals across the EU.
Last week, the Commission set up a scheme to gather medical equipment (through rescEU) so that the necessary supplies to combat COVID-19 can quickly get to member states facing shortages of equipment. This equipment is needed to treat infected patients, protect health care workers and help slow down the spread of the virus.
Parliament is working with member states to swiftly approve 40 out of 50 million EUR for intensive care medical equipment such as ventilators and personal protective equipment, such as reusable masks.
Member states are also joining forces under the Joint Procurement Agreement to buy personal protective equipment, respiratory ventilators and items necessary for coronavirus testing. Working together in this way will give them a stronger position on the world market.
