Italian military enlisted to help Slovenia cope with COVID-19

Six Italian military doctors and nurses arrived in Slovenia on Sunday to help treat COVID-19 patients. Another nine will join them on Monday, according to an agreement reached by the countries’ defence ministers.

The 15 Italian medical professionals, including five doctors, will help the Slovenian military teams at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, the country’s largest hospital.

Mixed teams will feature one Italian doctor, two Italian nurses, one Slovenian nurse and two Slovenian military paramedics.

While pressure on hospitals has eased slightly as new cases continue to decline, intensive care wards, in particular, are still stretched thin.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar said the situation at Slovenian hospitals remained very difficult, and hospitals would struggle if there was a major natural disaster or accident, which is why the help from Italy was so valuable.

The Italian medical staff will help in Slovenia until the end of the year. Whether they continue into next year depends on the situation in hospitals and the epidemiological situation in Slovenia and neighbouring countries.

(Eva Horvat | sta.si)