03/05/2021 17:59
Clarín.com
World
Updated 03/05/2021 17:59
Paraguayan Health Minister Julio Mazzoleni was forced to resign this Friday cornered by reports of
lack of supplies in hospitals
to face the wave of coronavirus infections, and highly questioned for his management of the pandemic.
The announcement was made after meeting with President Mario Abdo Benítez and following a Senate resolution calling for his removal.
"We have agreed together that I leave the post of the Ministry of Public Health
so that the peace that is needed to be able to face this challenge can really be generated," said Mazzoleni.
"It is a time when it is absolutely necessary for Paraguayans to be united to fight the pandemic and the national interest is above any person and hopefully this decision will serve for the union of the country," added Mazzoleni at the presidential residence.
The minister's management
had
already
been criticized this week by health personnel and the nursing union
, who for two days concentrated in front of several reference health centers to denounce the lack of medicines and supplies, especially for those affected by the coronavirus .
Minister Julio Mazzoleni was widely criticized for his management of the pandemic.
(DPA)
The shortage is becoming evident as
cases of covid accumulate in the country
, with a sustained increase in infections that are overwhelming the already precarious public health system.
The criticism is also compounded
by the delay in the arrival of vaccines
, which at the moment are limited to the
4,000 doses of Sputnik V
already applied, to two thousand health workers.
Before walking away, Mazzoleni admitted that he could not give exact dates of the reception of the million Russian vaccines already negotiated, as well as the 4.3 million doses agreed with the Covax mechanism.
Paraguay adds 3,256 deaths and 164,310 cases of coronavirus
since the first record of March last year, with a daily average in recent weeks above a thousand infections.
The vaccination campaign has not advanced until now.
Only 4,000 doses of Sputnik V were received. (AP)
The minister acknowledged on Thursday that there is
"an extremely worrying spread of the virus"
that involves "a very important impact on hospitals."
Carlos Morínigo
, pulmonologist at the National Institute of Respiratory and Environmental Diseases (Ineram), which concentrates the most serious patients with covid-19, said that hospitals
"are working at the top" and that "the situation is complicated
."
“Even more complicated is because we are without a head (minister).
We want this to be solved as soon as possible to bring peace of mind to citizens, "said the doctor in statements to journalists.
The Ministry of Health, which is now temporarily in charge of Vice Julio Borba, sought to tone down the criticism.
A spokesperson guaranteed this Friday the provision of supplies to treat coronavirus patients, although there are doubts among specialists.
The portfolio reported that there are almost
300 patients in intensive care
, and asked the population to reduce their social gatherings.
“
We are in a critical situation
.
We are not talking about rolling back the quarantine phases, but let's avoid crowds.
It is the only thing that can save us from the health collapse, ”warned Hernán Martínez, spokesman for the Ministry of Health.
Source: AFP and EFE
DV