"Only several vacant beds for COVID patients remain in Vilnius, therefore, new wards are being opened and prepared for COVID patients. Those beds and staff cannot come out of anywhere, therefore, Santaros Clinics have suspended planned hospitalization for therapeutic-profile patients. We now treat and accept only emergency patients," Jolita Jakutiene, director for management at Santaros Clinics, told journalists on Friday.
"Vilnius City Clinical Hospital is in the same situation is now only providing urgent assistance," she added.
In her words, 540 COVID patients, including 32 ICU cases, are being treated in the Vilnius region that includes Vilnius and Alytus Counties. The number makes a third of all COVID-19 patients in Lithuania.
The total number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals has increased by 60 over the past 24 hours to 1,571, including 159 ICU cases.