This Saturday’s update places 112 locations out of a total of 340 in orange (high alert); while only four classified as yellow (medium alert).
Fifteen days ago, there were 181 (red), 85 (orange) and 74 (yellow), evidence that the country is still going through the outbreak that began in January with the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes the disease. .
This is the first time that the Mspas takes into account the cumulative percentage of vaccination with two doses in those over 12 years of age, in addition to the parameters already established for the rate of positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants and the average number of daily tests per thousand inhabitants.
For two weeks, the figures of daily infections have been around or exceed four thousand, hence the call from the health authorities not to relax biosecurity measures and go to the more than 700 existing vaccination centers throughout the country.
The Portfolio is concerned that Guatemalans do not take into account the danger of Ómicron and assume it as a “simple cold”, when only immunization will prevent serious cases of Covid-19 and even death.
However, despite the calls of the Government and the Mspas to put their arm, only 7.1 million people have a dose against the disease and 5.5 million completed the scheme, out of a target population of more than 17.5 million population.
The alarm persists, especially when next Monday the school year will begin with a hybrid format in the public sector, where the infrastructure has historical deficiencies and there are doubts as to whether they will be able to maintain adequate hygienic conditions to avoid contagion.
This Saturday, the Mspas announced new intensive vaccination days and extended hours starting next Monday throughout the country and, in particular, in areas with low rates of inoculation.
The biologicals will be placed in municipal capitals, mobile posts and through house-to-house trackers for communities with difficult access.
For this, they will have the reinforcement of personnel from the Ministry of Defense, the Guatemalan Social Security Institute, the National Civil Police, the Association of Shopping Centers, governorates, municipalities and local leaders.
According to Health authorities, similar actions made it possible to administer 700,000 doses in just nine days in educational centers, a decisive boost to cover the segment between 12 and 17 years old.
Other conferences have arrived in recent weeks in Alta Verapaz, San Marcos, El Progreso, Quiché, Sololá and Huehuetenango, thereby increasing national coverage.
rgh/mmc
