05/31/2020 - 7:01
- Clarín.com
- Cities
The situation changes day by day, but the City of Buenos Aires remains firm at the top of coronavirus infections nationwide for weeks. In the last seven days, it registered 64.5% more cases among its inhabitants. And although Retiro and Flores continue to be by far the most affected neighborhoods, where contagions multiplied the most is in Balvanera: they increased by 89% .
The figures are from the Epidemiological Bulletin published every Friday by the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health. With the latest numbers, the City of Buenos Aires continues to be the district with the most cases of coronavirus : 8,887 as of this Saturday, four out of ten of which were registered in vulnerable neighborhoods. In addition, there are already 192 deaths in Buenos Aires territory due to this pandemic: 36% of those who died nationally from the disease, with an average age of 76 years.
Capital not only contrasts geographically, but also on a temporal level: the City of Buenos Aires this Friday is not the same as that of a week ago. Now it has 64.5% more cases . Even many Buenos Aires neighborhoods exceed this percentage increase, especially Balvanera (from 164 to 311 positives, 89% more), Flores (from 789 to 1,380, 75% more) and Barracas (from 131 to 330, also 75% more ).
Coronavirus at CABA
SITUATION IN THE MOST VULNERABLE NEIGHBORHOODS
Source: GCBA Infographic: Clarín
Retiro continues to be the neighborhood with the most infections, due to the outbreaks in Villa 31. Together with Flores, it represents half of the cases in Capital. However, the percentage rise is less than the Buenos Aires average , since the increase is 55%: from 1,400 to 2,173.
To better understand the scenario, we must make a caveat: the Buenos Aires Health Portfolio Bulletin addresses only the positive cases registered in residents of the City, which until the first hour of Friday were 7,121. Of these, 6,783 were able to indicate their exact address and thus helped to compile statistics on infections by neighborhood. This is how in Buenos Aires territory is 57.6% of the positives registered in all of Argentina , but among them there is a small part (16%) who are residents of the GBA who receive healthcare in the Capital.
In the Flores neighborhood, the number of coronavirus cases increased by 75% in the last week.Photo: Mario Quinteros
However, they do not transform the general scene: the Buenosairean curve of cases gained speed in the last week, even if only the infected residing in the City are counted . This Friday, even Buenos Aires added 399 infections, almost half in vulnerable neighborhoods.
"The curve is similar throughout the City, since the distribution of cases is very dispersed throughout the entire Buenos Aires territory," explains a spokesman for the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health. Today, that curve is on the rise because each patient infects more than one person . In addition, to make a local analysis, the location of popular neighborhoods must be taken into account, where an active 'door-to-door' search is being carried out for suspected cases and their close contacts, which significantly increases those that can be detected by day".
Operations to detect cases of coronavirus in Ciudad Oculta, in Barracas. In that neighborhood the number of cases also increased 75% in one week. Photo: Mario Quinteros
It is true that vulnerable neighborhoods in particular today show a more attenuated contagion curve in relation to other Buenos Aires neighborhoods. In fact, in recent days the number of daily positive cases in the villas decreased , while in the rest of the City it rose. With everything, in the Buenosairean sanitary portfolio they prefer to be cautious. “Currently within the popular neighborhoods there is a certain stability in the number of cases. In other words, the contagiousness could be stabilizing. But it is necessary to wait a few more days to be able to affirm that this trend is consolidated before drawing conclusions, "added the spokesperson.
In addition to the situation in some neighborhoods, there is also concern about the increasing contagion among health workers : 436 positives have already been confirmed, while another 284 are under epidemiological investigation. This Saturday afternoon, self-convened doctors held a caravan of cars on 9 de Julio Avenue to protest against job insecurity and judicial persecution . And on Friday the 22nd, the National Assembly of Residents and Competitors had marched to the National Ministry of Health to ask for the increase in the health budget, the provision of personal protection elements in adequate quantity and quality, unique protocols and training, among other demands.
The self-convened health personnel protest this Saturday. Among other things, they called for better working conditions. Photo: Fernando de la Orden
The rest of the Bulletin data that attracts attention has to do with age: for the first time, the population most affected in terms of infections by number of inhabitants is between 20 and 49 years , which also concentrates the largest absolute number of cases. Those over 80 are the second most affected age group in terms of population rates.
Those over 60 , meanwhile, have the highest case fatality rate . In this sense, men are the ones with the worst luck: they represent 57.2% of the deceased, although there are more Covid-19 positives in women.
The severity of the cases is also analyzed in the Bulletin: it indicates that, of the confirmed positives, 40% were admitted to health centers , of which 67% were admitted to the general ward and 6% to intensive care. In this latter group, slightly less than half required mechanical respiratory assistance, a proportion that has been maintained in recent weeks.
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