Intensive care specialists concerned about ICU situation in Uruguay

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Uruguayan intensive care specialists are concerned about the situation in intensive care units at a time when the country has set a new record in daily Covid-19 cases.

There are currently 151 people hospitalized in ICUs and 11,575 active cases, the worst figures since Uruguay decreed a health emergency on March 13th, 2020.

On Friday, March 19th, Julio Pontet, president of the Uruguayan Society of Intensive Care Medicine, explained that efforts are being made with the facilities that have experienced the greatest challenges to provide them with equipment, such as ventilators.

On the other hand, he pointed out that the metropolitan area traditionally registers the highest ICU bed occupancy rates in the country. However, for the first time ever, the interior of Uruguay currently registers the highest number of ICU beds occupied.

Accordingly, he stated that the most complicated area is the department (province) of Rivera, located in the north of the country and bordering Brazil.

This area is in the red according to the Harvard Global Health Institute rating, with an average of 89.61 cases per 100,000 people, and intensive care units are at their limit.

Consequently, Pontet emphasized the positive aspect of having 8 new ICU beds in Tacuarembó, a department neighboring Rivera, as it is one of the most direct routes for transferring patients by ambulance.

On the other hand, he pointed out that 380 physicians who are not intensive care specialists but have similar specialties are being trained in the ICU this month to perform part of their work there if necessary.

Finally, Pontet noted that, considering the last few days’ figures, the number of patients admitted to ICUs will continue to rise over the next 8 to 10 days.

On Thursday, Uruguay hit a new record of daily Covid-19 cases with 1,698 positives detected in 11,462 PCR tests performed and a total of 749 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

In addition, Uruguay has now vaccinated 289,895 people with the first dose of Covid-19 Pfizer or CoronaVac vaccines, both of which began to be administered in the South American country on March 1st.