Paraguay declared health red alert due to increase in coronavirus infections

Paraguayan Ministry of Health declared “red health alert” due to “unusual” increase in coronavirus infections, which in the last day left 2,125 more positives.

The country has 1,250 people admitted, 324 of them in critical units. In this regard, Deputy Minister of Comprehensive Health Care Hernán Martínez reported that bed occupancy has increased significantly, local media reported. ABC.

Martínez added that the red alert is due to the occupation of hospitals and the lack of professionals. “We are looking for alternatives (…). It’s rising faster than we can activate the beds», He lamented.

“ The General Directorate of Health Surveillance expresses its concern about the high degree of overcrowding observed in various activities and poor compliance with health measures could have a negative impact on health (…) and therefore lead to the system of health to collapse. The Ministry of Health reported in a statement.

With the announcement of the red alert, The Ministry of Health has demanded that sanitary measures be “strictly” observed and urged to reduce crowds and meetings, as well as to “protect oneself from any environment conducive to the spread of the virus to people over 60 and to those who present a certain condition of vulnerability to hospitalization and death”.

“In the event of non-compliance with the measures, it is expected that in the next two weeks this could lead to an imminent overload of hospitals due to massive contagion and the death of a greater number of compatriots”, concluded the Ministry.

Paraguay accumulates 171,985 COVID-19 cases and 3,360 pandemic deaths, according to health authorities.

Since the first positive a year ago, this is the first time that these indicators set records at the same time when the cumulative number of cases stood at 171,985, while that of deaths at 3,360, including 17 to date, according to the Ministry of Health.

Central, a department that borders the country’s capital, leads the region with the greatest impact with a total of 72,900 positives (43.4%), followed by Asunción with 40,143 (23.9%) and Alto Paraná, on the Brazilian border, with 12,855 (7.6%).

The area of ​​sustained expansion continues with Itapúa, on the border with Argentina and the main southern tourist destination in this summer season, with 6,827 (4.1%) and which appears in red on the risk map that measures the transmission intensity. over the past two weeks.

The authorities have warned that in the event of non-compliance with health protocols, among which the use of masks is mandatory, the consequence on the population in the next two weeks will be “the overloading of hospitals due to massive contagion and the death of more compatriots”.

The shooting of the cases comes at a time when the new Minister of Health, Julio Borba, took office on Tuesday as part of changes aimed at deactivating citizen protests, the origin of which is precisely the lack of drugs for them. coronavirus patients.

Public reaction last week forced the resignation of his predecessor, Julio Mazzoleni, although the organizers of the daily protest marches demand the resignation of the country’s president, Mario Abdo Benitez, from the Conservative Party of Colorado, whom they accuse of being responsible for the health crisis.

For his part, the new Minister of Education, Juan Manuel Brunetti, has not ruled out the possibility of suspending the face-to-face classes which began this month in combination with the virtual in places with a high level of contagion for stop the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

With information from EFE and Europa Press

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