Covid-19 Pushes Paraguay’s Health System to Limits; Alarm Grows on Number of Deaths

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Six months after the pandemic reached the country, Paraguay is experiencing its worst times in its fight against the coronavirus.

The average number of cases is increasing in September, reaching almost one person per hour. Infections have shot up and so have the most critical cases.

According to the local newspaper ‘Última Hora’, intensive care beds are almost at their limit in specialized treatent centers, such as the National Institute of Respiratory and Environmental Diseases (INERAM) and the National Hospital of Itauguá.

According to data collected by the newspaper, between September 1st and 7th, 123 deaths of critically ill patients were recorded: almost one death per hour.

The president of the Paraguayan Society of Pneumology, José Fusillo, said that the figures are worsening, exceeding the projected 15 daily deaths and the number of positive tests, which is over 50 percent.

Another alarming data is that the occupancy rate of ventilators enabled for the care of critical patients is virtually 100 percent. “We have virtually no free ventilator in the public system, which means that if a patient who needs a ventilator comes in today, we will not be able to provide assistance. Occupancy rates in hospitals are at 100 percent,” he added.

With regard to moderately-severe patients and those requiring oxygen, the physician clarified that beds are still available for these cases.

Dr. Yolanda Gonzalez, director of the National Hospital of Itauguá, said that they are almost at the limit of reaching 100 percent bed occupancy in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Differentiated quarantines

As SARS-CoV-2 is spreading differently across the country, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez issued three decrees last Saturday, extending the health restrictions according to the degree of impact in the affected areas.

Consequently, Phase 4, which involves a large part of activities with a still limited number of people, was extended throughout the country until September 20th, except in Asunción, Alto Paraná, Central, and some points in the Chaco region.

The country’s capital and the metropolitan area (Central) and Alto Paraná, a department bordering Brazil, are the focus of the pandemic with its “highly sought” hospitals, according to the Minister of Health, Julio Mazzoleni.

As a result, Asunción and Central remain in Phase 3, which was to have ended last Sunday, until September 20th, with nighttime restrictions on circulation and a ban on alcohol.

The same bans are in force in Alto Paraná, where at least a thousand people marched on Saturday in the provincial capital, Ciudad del Este, to demand the reopening of the Friendship Bridge, which connects the country’s second-largest city directly to the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu.

The city’s trade associations and commercial businesses demand the reactivation of trade in the region given the severe economic impact caused by six months of border closures with Brazil.

Source: infobae