PAHO has warned that hospitals in the Americas are “dangerously full” due to the spread of COVID-19

PAHO, the Americas office of the World Health Organization (WHO), on Wednesday warned that the region is going through a crisis due to COVID-19 in which hospitals are “dangerously full”.

“Hospitals in the region are dangerously full,” warned Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) during a virtual press conference.

Etienne indicated that last week, 40% of COVID-19 deaths worldwide occurred in the region and that there are more countries than ever reporting more than 1,000 cases per day.

The director of PAHO pointed out that the region had done a very remarkable job of increasing hospital capacity last year and that countries such as Colombia, Panama and the Dominican Republic had doubled the capacity of beds in hospital units. intensive care.

Other countries like Chile and Peru have tripled this type of quota and Mexico and Honduras have almost quadrupled this capacity.

But he regretted that Despite what was learned from the virus in 2020, “control efforts are not as strict and prevention is not as effective”.

PAHO conducted a study in 16 countries and found that in March 2020, they had a total of 61,406 beds in intensive care units, with an average occupancy rate of 61% in these hospital wings. . By April of this year, the total had risen to 121,000, but 80% of those new places were filled.

“This is an average, some countries had an occupancy rate of more than 95% in these units”, Etienne warned, who regretted that despite what was learned about the virus in 2020, “control efforts are not so strict and prevention is not so effective”.

The doctor in charge of PAHO explained that these beds require specialized staff and that patients in these units need 24-hour care.

“It may not be sustainable over time,” he said, referring to the accumulated fatigue of health workers.

“Feeling of false security”

Etienne said that during much of the pandemic, hospitals they were filled with older people with pre-existing illnesses, and this trend created a “false sense of security” among the younger population.

However, he warned, hospitalizations and deaths of young adults are increasing as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates in the region.

“Adults of all ages – including young people – get seriously ill and many of them die,” Etienne said.

PAHO reported that in recent months, The rate of hospitalization of those under 39 increased by 70% in Chile, and in Brazil, the largest increase in income was recorded in the population of around 40 years.

While in the United States, there are more people in their 20s hospitalized than those over 70, in Brazil, the under-39 death rate doubled between December and May. In addition, it was quadrupled for people aged 40 and tripled for those of the following decade in the period indicated, the expert said.

According to Etienne, the younger population receiving hospital care is more likely to survive COVID-19, but he warned countries to prepare for increased demand.

“We are still in the middle of an ongoing crisis”, alert.

With information from AFP

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