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Senegal’s health services are overwhelmed as the third wave of COVID-19 spreads across the country.
Since the start of the pandemic, Senegal’s national SAMU, the emergency paramedical service, has been responsible for registering all cases of COVID-19 and for organizing the regulation of patients, emergency physicians and care centers.
“We have had an influx of calls for respiratory distress. We have had a few in the first wave, a few in the second wave, but since the start of the third wave, 90% of the calls have been made in the first wave. respiratory distress, “said Dr. Abdallah Wade, responsible for SAMU regulation.
Today, there are fewer and fewer hospital beds and emergency doctors from the SAMU are rushing to respond to the influx of suffering patients.
One of these patients, Binta Ba, 25, is pregnant and infected with COVID-19.
Given her pregnancy and the condition of her lungs, the SAMU considered her a high-risk case and transferred her to a level 3 hospital, a highly equipped hospital that takes care of all medical specialties. .
Djiba Ba, Binta’s father, said he was angry with those who spread misinformation about COVID-19 and those who refuse to be vaccinated.
“I swear to you that COVID-19 is real and that people who refuse to be vaccinated should be punished,” he said.
The SAMU regulation team works 24 hours a day and is helped by other emergency services such as firefighters.
Dr Mouhamed Lamine Dieng said the current overflow of calls and patients, and the resulting lack of beds, is extremely difficult:
“The main challenge for the regulatory team is finding a place at the right time to save a person before they die – this is the main challenge,” he said.
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