As promised, they will do so. The government will start delivering respirators to seniors’ inboxes. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) said that in the event of a significant deterioration in the situation, he would deliver respirators from state supplies to seniors within three days. After today’s extraordinary meeting of the government, seniors will receive one respirator and five veils in their mailboxes, the Czech Post will start distributing protective equipment as soon as possible, police officers and firefighters should start removing veils and respirators from Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček (CSSD) informed about it.
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Today, the government approved the distribution of 1 respirator and 5 drapes to all Czech citizens over the age of 60. They’ll start working on it tomorrow morning @PolicieCZ a @hasici_cr in a warehouse in Opočínek to get postmen @Ceska_posta_sp they could take over these aids and gradually supply them to citizens.
– Jan Hamacek (@jhamacek) September 9, 2020
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More than 2 million people over the age of 65 live in the Czech Republic, and almost 3 million Czechs receive a pension.
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The delivery will mean protection for seniors for only a few days. The classic respirators that are to be stored in the warehouse are disposable aids that, according to the manufacturers’ recommendations, cannot be used repeatedly. Therefore, one respirator should be enough for seniors only for one trip, for example to a doctor or a store. Then they should destroy it.
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“Manufacturers do not recommend using respirators repeatedly. They also do not state the period of effectiveness, because it is affected by humidity and environmental pollution, but under good conditions it should be within eight hours, “says Vladislav Formánek, quality manager of the medical company Batist medical.
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When handling a respirator that has already been used, it would also be necessary to maintain increased hygiene and handle it only with disinfected hands and store it in a clean bag. “Otherwise, you run the risk of some bacteria or viruses sticking to it,” Formánek warns.
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If seniors wanted to use a government-donated respirator more than once, they would no longer have to be 100% effective. “The respirator works with an electrostatic charge that discharges. That’s why it can’t be worn for a week or 14 days, it’s a tool for short-term use, “explains Jiří Kůs from NanoSpace, which trades in medical supplies.
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According to him, the respirators that are in the state’s warehouses are not even made of nanomaterials that can be used repeatedly. “Most of what the state has are respirators that Mr. Hamáček (Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček – editor’s note) brought here from China.”
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There is also opposition to supplying seniors with respirators. Member of Parliament and doctor Vlastimil Válek (TOP 09) has already pointed out this possibility several times, according to which, instead of the 5,000-veil fee that the government wants to pay to seniors before Christmas, the state should supply endangered groups with quality respirators. However, regularly. “Veils should be freely available in public places,” he added.
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