04/02/2021 19:49
Clarín.com
World
Updated 04/02/2021 19:49
Uruguay's
health situation
has been complicated in recent days with a significant growth in coronavirus cases.
This Thursday a
new record
of 35 deaths was broken in 24 hours, which raised the total number of deaths to 1,009.
More than 80% of these deaths occurred in 2021, marking
a critical moment in the pandemic that last year seemed under control
.
Between March 2020 - when the first cases of coronavirus appeared - and December, the country of 3.5 million inhabitants accounted for just 181 deaths from covid.
On the other hand, in the first three months of 2021 it added more than 800 deaths, 400 of them only in March.
This week it also exceeded 100,000 infections
, of which almost 60% occurred in the last 90 days.
This sustained increase translated into a greater number of seriously ill patients: 42% of intensive care beds throughout the country are occupied by patients with covid, above the 35% considered the limit to enter a "red zone" of saturation of the national health system.
The president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, rejects more severe restrictive measures to curb the pandemic.
Photo: EFE
Luis Lacalle Pou rejects a quarantine
The numbers illustrate the radical change of scenery that the neighboring country is experiencing.
In this context, the scientific community and medical associations, as well as the opposition and even political partners of the government
demand more restrictive measures
for mobility.
Some medical associations and the Medical Union of Uruguay this week asked the government of Luis Lacalle Pou for "effective measures" to reduce mobility in the face of what they consider an
"imminent health catastrophe
.
"
They maintain that there is a "critical scenario" due to the increase in cases throughout the territory.
However, President
Lacalle Pou was emphatic in ruling out mandatory confinement
, arguing that his government "does not believe in a police state," and has even been reluctant to close at least some sectors of the economy again.
The president considers that the current measures, such as the suspension of face-to-face classes or the closure of some public offices, are "sufficient" if they are accompanied by individual behavior.
Lacalle Pou has raised the flag of
"responsible freedom"
, a concept to which he appealed on several occasions in 2020, when he refused to decree the quarantine despite multiple requests from the left-wing opposition and other sectors.
The Rambla of Montevideo, almost deserted days ago, before a new advance of the coronavirus in Uruguay.
Photo: Xinhua
Recommend more restrictions
The group of scientists that the government advises published in February a document with recommendations for measures that after the opening of activities in 2020 have not been resumed, such as the closure of bars and restaurants, the suspension of professional sports and religious services, the closure casinos and a stricter closure of borders.
An eventual collapse of the health system
is now the focus of attention
and this week became a subject of debate between those who support the government's decisions and those who argue that it is imperative to tighten the measures.
On Tuesday a document from the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) was leaked and distributed among sanatoriums to define priorities for admission to intensive care units, which for some shows that the government itself is foreseeing the worst scenario.
Although the MSP has added dozens of intensive care beds, the society of intensivists has indicated that there are not enough human resources to attend them.
The other side of the coin is
vaccination,
which has been going full steam since it began on March 1: in a month, almost 20% of the population already received the first dose of CoronaVac or Pfizer.
Through agreements with the US laboratory and with the Chinese Sinovac, Uruguay secured five million doses, of which two million have already arrived in the national territory.
The country also awaits the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines, acquired through the Covax mechanism.
Source: AFP and EFE
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