Med students help homeless during virus lockdown

Czech Medical students who volunteer to treat the homeless in Prague have faced some setbacks during the coronavirus pandemic but are continuing with their work nonetheless.

Ruth Habartova and Anicka Ourdova, both in their last year of medical school, volunteer for Medics on the Street - an organisation that visits the homeless and gives them basic medical attention.

On Thursday, they checked in on Mikulas who lives in a wooded area near the Vlatava River with his cat, Baron.

Mikulas burned his feet in a campfire and now needs his bandages changed regularly to stave off infection.

"It is very nice what they are doing, helping people, and there are people who need it more than I do," he said.

The demand for health care workers and doctors in training like Habartova and Ourdova to treat coronavirus patients at local hospitals has meant Medics on the Street now only has 20 volunteers treating homeless people.

Before the pandemic, they had 70.

Although the student doctors had trouble getting face masks and other protective equipment at the beginning of the crisis, they now have the necessary safety gear.

After treating Mikulas, the medics went to their next stop, a homeless shelter, to continue attending to patients.

As of Thursday, the Czech Republic has reported 7,581 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 227 deaths.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and could lead to death.