The “veranito de San Juan” comes to an end. After weeks of falling figures, the number of infections by Covid 19 began a slight and worrying rise, which forced the Ministry of Health make the first big adjustment in the revamped Step-by-Step Plan.
From the May 12, 95 communes in the country-including all those in the Metropolitan Region– go back from the Low Sanitary Impact Phase (green phase) to the Medium Sanitary Impact Phase (yellow phase), which basically translates into greater capacity control. Proper measure?
“Necessary measure”, warns Loreto Twele, pediatric infectologist and academic of Medicine at the U. San Sebastián. “As doctors we are concerned about the rise in cases of Covid-19, even more so now, at the gates of a winter with increased circulation of respiratory viruses.
This puts us in a complex scenario to respond to the large number of patients who may require ventilatory assistance and medical attention”, he explains.
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What is the current scenario due to? In the expert’s opinion, there are multiple factors at play. Among them, the relaxation in isolation measures and the drop in vaccination rates, especially with booster doses.
“Those who have the initial doses, but do not have the third or fourth (as appropriate), the immunity gained weakens and leaves them devoid of protection against the disease (…) and eventually, they could infect other people,” Twele details.
“A person with up-to-date vaccinations, with a higher rate of antibodies, with cellular immunity that defends them, has less chance of getting sick and decreases ten times the possibility of transmitting the disease to another”, he adds.
The call, in addition, is to maintain self-care, hand washing and the use of masks in closed places and in close proximity to others. “Low temperatures tend to paralyze the respiratory cilia (the hairs at the entrance of the nose) and allow the easier entry of viruses… not only Covid, but also Influenza,” he concludes.
What does the Yellow Phase require and allow?
According to what was reported by the Ministry of Health, the Medium Sanitary Impact Phase establishes the following regulations:
- The use of a mask will always be mandatory in closed spaces, and in any open space where a physical distance of more than 1 meter cannot be maintained.
- The mobility pass will be required.
- In closed spaces, people must maintain a physical distance of at least 1 meter, and the mobility pass will be mandatory.
- Massive events will have a maximum capacity of up to 10,000 people, with a mask and mobility pass, as long as the venue space allows physical distance.
