One of the most important hospitals in Santiago de Chile caught fire – economic, financial and economic news

A large-scale fire at San Borja hospital, one of the most important health centers in Santiago de Chile, forced this Saturday to evacuate patients, many of them with coronavirus, at the time of the reappearance of the pandemic where much of the health care system is operating at peak capacity.

The sinister, that did not cause death or injury, started around 7:30 am (local and Argentinian time) on the fourth floor of the enclosure where the boilers are located, so an “internal evacuation” of four floors and two others towards the interior patio has been carried out, the National Emergency Office said via its website.

Prosecutor Fernando Ruiz, responsible for investigating what happened, stressed that nail first hypothesis, based on information provided by hospital staff, is this the fire was started by a short circuit.

“This should be determined with the expertise that will be carried out and which could ultimately confirm the hypothesis of a power failure,” said the judicial official quoted by the portal of Mercury.

A large police, army, fire department and medical staff have been put in place to help evacuate patients from inside to a parking lot or safe area outside the sanatorium, with appropriate sanitary measures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As the firefighters entered the enclosure loaded with hoses and special equipment, Health workers came out of the same stretchers with patients, many of whom were in critical circumstances, as the hospital specializes in very complex medical situations, the press agency graphic AFP.

Health Minister Enrique Paris told a press conference from the scene of the incident that four hospitals in the capital offered availability to receive evacuated patients.

“Patients with coronavirus must be transferred with much more caution. They need to be removed from the mechanical ventilator, disconnected from infusion pumps and monitors, transferred to a special stretcher with a monitor and portable ventilation, and transferred to more complex ambulances, ”the head of the health portfolio said.

The fire comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic in Chile is reappearing, where much of the health care system is operating at peak capacity.

Covid-19 has left more than 4,000 newly infected per day for a month and, due to the increase in cases, several patients have arrived at San Borja Hospital from other regions to ease the burden borne by the hospitals in other parts of the country.

The fear is that it will again reach 90% occupancy of critical beds in the metropolitan area, which occurred between June and July when the pandemic reached its peak in Chile.

The the future exploitation of San Borja for now is unknown, although Santiago Fire Commander Gabriel Huerta ruled out the possibility of a collapse and informed the press that after having brought the fire under control, a damage assessment was undertaken.

“As far as the functioning of the hospital is concerned, this is something that needs to be evaluated. At the moment, we think that the hospital is probably not operational today, which is why we are getting quotas. transfer, “said the undersecretary of the health networks, Alberto Dougnac.