Chile returns to full quarantine for 72% of its population despite high vaccination rate

Almost half of the 52 municipalities of Santiago and around 14 million inhabitants throughout Chile (72% of a population of 19 million) will return to full quarantine for the coronavirus from this Thursday due to the alarming increase in cases in recent days, the government announced today . Two in three Chileans will be incarcerated nationwide, the highest figure for the pandemic, local media reported.

“The cases continue to increase at the national level, we must keep this in mind”, Health Minister Enrique Paris said after 6,155 new cases and 80 new deaths from the virus were reported today in the past 24 hours.

“Today, we are living a complex situation in our country”said the under secretary for public health, Paula Daza, about to announce the decline of the two most populous municipalities in the metropolitan region – with 19 others – in the first phase of the plan step by step, published the newspaper La Tercera.

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1/2 As of Thursday, March 25 at 5 a.m., the following municipalities fall #Quarantine. For more information visit https://t.co/Ovn2CfAVnK pic.twitter.com/frlUwLR9eF

– Government of Chile (@GobiernodeChile) March 22, 2021

“We have seen a significant increase in the number of cases (…). We have to control the pandemic and for that we have to reduce mobility “added the official. On that day, a total of 13.7 million people will participate in this phase of the step-by-step plan.

The occupancy of critical-use beds is close to 95% despite increasing 627 in the past month to 3398 70% of which are occupied by patients with COVID-19. There were only 177 left on Monday. The South American country faced the first wave, in the middle of last year, with 2,200 intensive care beds.

Authorities have explained that the problem with the increase in critical beds is not the lack of ventilators but of the right health workers.

The daily average of infected is 5,800, but on Sunday they reached 7,084, the highest number in the entire pandemic. It is estimated that between 2% and 2.5% newly infected people will need a bed with a ventilator.

Chile vaccinated 5.6 million people in less than two months, 30% of its population, and plans to inoculate 15 million by the end of June. But according to the authorities, it is too early for vaccinations to be reflected in health indicators, although they saw positive effects on the elderly.

Authorities say that unlike the first wave where people hospitalized in critical units were on average 70 years old, they are now in their 50s.

Chile has so far recorded more than 938,000 infected and 22,359 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

From 5 a.m. on Thursday, March 25 the following municipalities in the metropolitan area must be quarantined: Puente Alto, Maipú, Cerro Navia, Lo Espejo, La Reina, Macul, San Joaquín, El Monte, Melipilla, Central Station, San Pedro, Peñalolén, La Pintana, Independencia, Ñuñoa, San Bernardo, Pirque, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Pudahuel , La Granja and Peñaflor. The measure affects more than 2.2 million people.

In other regions, there have also been setbacks and progress. Wing phase 2The municipalities of El Quisco and Catemu (Valparaíso) will advance; Las Cabras (O’Higgins); Quemchi and Palena (Los Lagos). While at step 3They will pass Tierra Amarilla (Atacama); Andacollo (Coquimbo) and Vichuquén (Maule).

In addition, the government announced the suspension from Saturday 27 of the general travel authorization, which allows people who live in towns quarantined on weekends, leave their homes on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.