The Venezuelan union Monitor Salud reported this Wednesday that in the first quarter of 2022, 1,971 health workers infected with coronavirus were recorded. covid-19 and that the nursing staff was the most affected, with 412 cases registered in this period.
“Between January and March 2022, 1,971 health workers infected with covid-19 were registered. The staff with the highest contagion was the nursing staff with 412 infections, followed by workers (338 infections) and doctors (282 infections), ”explained the union in its most recent report, published this Wednesday on its website.
For the record, Monitor Salud collected information in 69 of the main health centers in the central, western and eastern regions of Venezuela.
“The most affected” by the pandemic
The organization considered that the figures for covid-19 cases among health personnel show that this group, due to the nature of their work, continues to be among “the most affected” by the pandemic.
For Monitor Salud, the number of infections is related to the conditions in which doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dentists, pharmacists, nutritionists, workers and administrative employees of the health system in Venezuela perform their functions.
In this regard, he explained that “in the hospitalization of the monitored health centers there were no masks 44% of the time (equivalent to 40 days), there were no gloves 46% of the time (equivalent to 41 days) and there was no facial protection / ocular 58% of the time (equivalent to 52 days)».
in your reportthe NGO also referred to the protests by health personnel since these workers “remain at the forefront in terms of labor conflict, since their participation has been one of the most belligerent.”
Citing data from the Observatory of Social Conflict in Venezuela, the union highlighted that, so far in 2022, between 28% and 30% of the protests have had Venezuelan health workers as protagonists, “who, like the rest, demands a remuneration that allows them to have a decent life and enjoy the ideal working conditions for the exercise of their functions.
Regarding the conditions of the health centers, the monitor indicated that “during the first 90 days of 2022 there have been no significant changes in the public health system in Venezuela.”
The figures indicate that «45% of the 90 days of the first quarter of 2022, the monitored health centers, suffered some kind of problem with the operation of their respective morgue. The foregoing is equivalent to saying that the morgues of these hospitals were out of operation for 40 and a half days,” says the report.
