Luis Escóbar / La Paz
Santa Cruz declared itself on red alert, La Paz is preparing its declaration of health alert and Cochabamba has 75% of intensive therapy beds occupied by unvaccinated patients. In the country, Covid-19 infections are on the rise near the end of the year holidays. In addition, a specialist indicates that the peak of the fourth wave will be at Christmas.
“Seven weeks ago we had less than 100 cases per day. Today, on average, we reach 500 cases a day, a sharply rising curve. The last two weeks were almost explosive. For this reason, in a strategic action, we declared a red alert for Covid-19 in the department of Santa Cruz, “said the head of epidemiology at the Santa Cruz Headquarters, Carlos Alberto Hurtado.
On November 1, the government declared the entry of the country to a fourth wave due to the increase in infections for four consecutive weeks. Líder Limpias, a systems engineer who developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that made a projection, said that in December cases will increase and there will be a record of infections again ”. “Therefore, between December 24 and 26, we will register the peak (of the fourth wave) this year, at Christmas. Although the number of infections could continue to escalate until January ”, he assured.
Hurtado added that 20 Santa Cruz municipalities are “at high risk” of spreading the disease. “Today we must report nine deaths from complications of the coronavirus, eight of them did not have vaccines. Due to responsibility, we must get vaccinated, people who are not immunized have a greater risk of complicating themselves and dying, ”he said.
The director of the La Paz Headquarters, Mayber Aparicio, said that this department is at the “doors” of the fourth wave. “In the last two weeks there was an increase in infections in La Paz at a rate of approximately 4% to 6%. Although we are below 10%, but enough to consider that we should enter a probable health emergency, “he explained.
To face this new escalation of infections, the Government allocated five million Bolivians to be executed by the La Paz Headquarters. By December, the entity will hire 220 people for vaccination, especially in three rural districts with low levels of immunization.
“We believe that the fourth wave will be similar to the third as far as the plateau is concerned. At that point we will arrive with 12,000 infections and it will last between four to six weeks. We would be in a phase of contagion de-escalation in March, as it would have happened in 2020, “he added.
A report from the Cochabamba Headquarters warned an increase in serious cases affected by the disease. The entity registered -on average- that the occupation of intensive and intermediate therapy is 75%; and 50% in emergency rooms and in hospital rooms with a 60% increase in occupied beds.
According to the Headquarters, all the people who are in critical condition did not receive any dose of the anticovid vaccine.
Given these data, the Headquarters called on the population to take care of biosafety measures, especially in the municipalities that make up the metropolitan axis.
They ask to avoid parties
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Recommendation The Deputy Minister of Promotion, Epidemiological Surveillance and Traditional Medicine, María Renee Castro, recommended that graduation parties or other social events in which the population can concentrate should not be held. “Personally, I do not recommend (holding) parties or activities that concentrate the population, no parties,” said Castro.
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Evaluation Castro also assured that in order to approve this type of social event, each of the municipalities must take into account the level of contagion or spread of the disease.
