Three confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been announced so far by the Greek Ministry of Health. The condition of all three cases infected by the new Coronavirus has been described as good and is being monitored by specialists.
In a statement, the Health and Welfare Section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) demands from the government to take all the needed measures for the prevention and treatment of the Covid-19 effects.
At the same time, the statement which was published on 902 portal, refers to the inefficiences of the national health system to respond to the possible outbreak of an epidemic, which is a result of the policies implemented by the bourgeois governments of the last decades.
“The responsible stance is not to conceal the huge problems that exist in the national health system and in public healthcare, something that the people experience in the understaffed public hospitals, the rundimentary or nonexistent public Primary Health Care, the lack of equipment and materials”, reads the statement.
Refering to the important inefficiences of the health system, the statement warns about the dangerous conditions that could be created in the case of an epidemic. The KKE also highlight the fact that the measures taken by the ND government are not sufficient enough to address the problem.
The KKE points out that the policy of the government in the sector of Healthcare is dominated by the doctrine of the minimum state expenditure and the policy of “cost-benefit”.
“Under these circumstances of the national health system, the lack of personnel, the intensification of labour, which has been a result of the cuts in state budget by all governments, there are obstacles in the implementation and effectiveness of any state plan”, reads the statement.
As a response to the inefficiences of the heathcare system, the KKE demands from the government to take 9 immediate measures which are needed for the faster and better response of the state mechanism to the challenge presented by the new Coronavirus outbreak. These measures include the hiring of permanent personnel in all health sectors, the creation of permanent labour conditions for the existing personnel, the immediate 24/7 function of all Primary Healthcare Units, to supply drugs and materials in all public health units, to crack down profiteering on needed materials (e.g. masks), to ensure the medical monitoring and adequate hygiene in welfare institutions, nurseries, kindergartens, schools, university faculties, military units and refugee camps, to take prevention measures of health and security in labour places, to grant extra-day offs to working men and women who get sick, etc.
“These measures are a priority. Without any delay, act now in order to give solutions to the problems. No compromise at all with the economy of the business groups and their profits which is the epidemic that destroys social rights and needs”, ends the statement of the Party.