Chile reconfigures again, tightens measures amid increase in cases

Santiago, Chile.- An average of over 20,000 new Covid-19 infections in the past four days and a spike in active cases that had not been recorded since last July, rekindled fears Chile about what appears to be the start of an emerging third wave of the pandemic.

As the vaccination process progresses steadily and Chile leads the region’s statistics with more than 4 million vaccinated –Half a million corresponds to people who have also already received the second dose–, the latest figures have raised concerns from the authorities.

The Chilean Ministry of Health today reported 4,733 infections and 86 deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and the presence of 28,987 active cases of the disease, one of the highest numbers in the past eight months.

The metropolitan area, with more than 8,000 cases, is the one with the largest number of individuals capable of spreading the virus, which has already killed 21,163 people in the country.

Health Minister Enrique Paris said that over the past seven days, the regions of Coquimbo, Metropolitana, O’Higgins and Biobío have seen a dramatic increase in cases.

For the same reasons, the authorities have decided on reconfigurations in various regions of the country and in important cities, such as Valparaíso, La Serena and Coquimbo. All within the framework of the “Step by Step” plan, a strategy designed by the Chilean authorities to deal with the pandemic according to the health situation of each particular zone, and whose progress or decline is determined on the basis of epidemiological criteria and health network capacity in the region, among other factors.

Thus, and from Thursday, 43 municipalities in the country will retreat, including seven in the metropolitan region, which will mean that next weekend, more than 17 million Chileans – out of a total of 19 million – They will be placed in absolute confinement to live in sectors in phase 1 (quarantine) and phase 2 (transition). On the other hand, only 11 municipalities across the country will move forward in phase and relax their restrictions.

With the increase in the number of cases, likewise, the critical beds available across the country have also seen increased demand. The Integrated Health Network still has 166 intensive care beds and of the 1,821 people admitted, 1,595 are on mechanical ventilation.

In this sense, the Undersecretary for the Health Networks, Alberto Dougnac, also underlined the government’s concern about the significant increase in hospitalizations of people under 50 years old.

“The total number of patients admitted to intensive care units has increased very significantly compared to November, this increase being much larger precisely in the groups under 50 years old and, in particular, in those under 40 years old. “, said the manager.

In the midst of this panorama and certain criticisms of the government for having favored the return in person, the minister replied that the increase in cases is not linked to this measure. “In schools, the measures that we have put in place are very strict and we often consider that it is often safer for the child to be in school before going home, where such strict measures do not. are not respected, “said Paris, in the midst of arrival of a shipment of more than two million vaccines from Sinovac, with which Chile already totals about 10 million doses purchased from the Asian laboratory and Pfizer-BioNTech.

Another of the measures aimed at border control, which will be redoubled to trace the arrival of new strains of the virus, after cases of this type of Covid-19 from Brazil were detected in Chile.

“We have started to step up testing of passengers from Brazil, because the P.1 variant was found in Brazil, which, due to the scientific experience we have, is a more contagious variant,” said the Under Secretary of Public Health Paula Daza, who stressed that these people will undergo a PCR test and that if they are negative they will also be forced to end their 11-day quarantine at destination.

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