Paula Galinsky
06/01/2020 - 7:01
- Clarín.com
- Society
Isolated in hotels or universities, interned in public or private health centers. What are the criteria for deciding which facility each suspected or confirmed coronavirus case goes to? The patient's age, symptoms, living conditions and close contacts, are they decisive? City and Province behave with some differences . But in both jurisdictions they confirm that, despite the increase in infections, there are available beds to attend to the new positives.
In the City, mild patients, both asymptomatic and those who have symptoms but do not require clinical assistance, go to hotels . As they explain from the Buenos Aires Health portfolio, today they have 1,477 people staying . Among them, there are also suspicious cases that wait in isolation for the result.
"Occupancy in hotels is around 30% , the total capacity is between 4,000 and 5,000 beds," say City authorities.
Moderate and severe patients, with more complex symptoms or comorbidities (underlying diseases such as diabetes or heart conditions), are referred to hospitals . In case they have social works or prepaid they go to private clinics .
A robot doll is used to do an intensive therapy simulation of Covid-19, at the Hospital El Cruce, in Florencio Varela. There are currently 300 patients with coronavirus hospitalized in therapy in the Province. (EFE)
In Capital, according to official data, "103 ( 34% ) of the 300 intensive care beds destined for patients with coronavirus are occupied and 414 ( 38% ) of the 1,100 general beds available for moderate patients in Buenos Aires public hospitals."
In the province of Buenos Aires they do not use hotels for minor cases. They do have other properties that were adapted as isolation centers. As they explain from the provincial Ministry of Health, they try to make suspected cases wait for the result at home . "If this is not possible, they are isolated in places prepared by each municipality," they point out.
The hotels where mild coronavirus patients are admitted to the City.
The National University of Quilmes, for example, was adapted for this purpose. Tecnópolis also, although, so far, they do not have patients there because it was not necessary to refer patients there. "It is going to open shortly, " they assure from the Health portfolio.
In hospitals, they confirm that, despite the increase in cases, they are willing to attend to Buenos Aires residents who arrive with coronaviruses. In the intensive care sector, which has a capacity of 4,667 people, 1,948 beds are occupied ( 42% ). Of these, 300 are from people with Covid 19.
In intermediate care, of the total of 2,413 beds, 861 ( 35% ) are in use . Just 183 due to coronavirus. Meanwhile, in minimal care they have the capacity for 14,656 patients. There are 5,444 beds occupied ( 37% ), 899 by patients affected by the pandemic.
Lautaro de Vedia, former president of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases, highlights that hospitalization for other causes fell by around 30% compared to last year and that this has to do with the preparation of the health system to contain the pandemic and avoid collapse. He says that, at the same time, it sought to prevent the spread of people with other pathologies.
View of the armed beds in Tecnópolis for patients with coronavirus. No patients were received yet. (AP)
"The scheduled operations have been suspended. Everything that can be postponed is being postponed. Furthermore, with the quarantine we are not having hospitalized for traffic accidents either," stresses the specialist at the Muñiz Hospital.
He states that the situation in the City's intensive care is more controlled in the private than public sector. "In the clinics they are 50% occupied, between Covid 19 and other conditions. In the public sector, we are 80% ", he warns and remarks that in Muñiz he is seeing more cases.
He considers that hotels are a good alternative to alleviate the situation in hospitals. The same with the isolation centers of the Province. "The care at those sites, according to the follow-up I did of my patients, was good," he adds.
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