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  • Chile, at the limit of its hospital capacity after rebound in cases - bodies line corridor at one hospital

    Source: https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latin...ntagios-574763

    Chile, at the limit of its hospital capacity after rebound in cases
    Faced with an increase in infections, the Santiago authorities decreed a total quarantine.
    By: AFP Y EFE
    March 19, 2021, 08:56 p.m. m.

    The occupancy of beds in intensive care units (ICU) in Chile reached its highest level to date, close to 95 percent, due to the second wave of covid-19 that the country suffers, which this Friday reported 6,604 new infections , the third highest peak in the entire pandemic.

    Faced with this scenario, the Santiago authorities once again imposed a total quarantine both in the capital and in seven other municipalities, where 7.1 of the nearly 19 million inhabitants of the country live. Hospital availability has been declining, and the occupancy percentage went from 93.5 percent two weeks ago to 94.8 percent today, according to a joint report by the University of Chile, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the University of Concepci?n, which states that the situation "is cause for great concern."

    "There is a very high occupancy of ICU beds that has continued to increase slowly but consistently," says the document, and reveals that the increase has been progressive since May last year, when there was the lowest ICU occupancy (62 percent), and which has now surpassed the highest record so far, which was last January (94 percent).

    The Minister of Health, Enrique Paris, told the press on Friday that there are more ICU beds occupied than in the worst moments of the pandemic, in June of last year, but that now ?the beds occupied by patients with covid-19 are only 70 percent of all ICU patients; therefore, 30 percent are occupied by surgical patients, operated on for tumors ?.

    Paris also reported that "the occupancy of critical beds is 3,141, the highest figure recorded to date, of which 2,193 correspond to ICU, with 1,907 patients hospitalized with mechanical ventilation support."

    The number of critical beds available nationwide today is 201.
    The southern summer holidays plunged Chile into a second wave of covid-19 that increased the weekly average of new infections per day to 5,075, according to the university report.

    With the 6,604 cases reported this Friday by the authorities, the total balance since the beginning of the pandemic thus reached 918,053 cases and 22,087 deaths, after registering 99 deaths in the last 24 hours. The number of patients in the active stage of the disease, which means that they can be contagious, is at all-time highs, reaching 36,433.

    Given the worsening of the situation, the authorities have been tightening the measures in the capital region and in other parts of the country, decreeing quarantines for weekends in some places and total confinements in others.
    Likewise, the minister said that they are proposing "to hire or call to work officials from any field of health who are already retired or who have received an incentive to retire" to increase the staff working in ICUs.

    He also reported that he has spoken with clinics, university hospitals and institutional hospitals of the Armed Forces and the Carabineros police force, and was confident that more beds will be available next week.
    In parallel, Chile is continuing with a vaccination plan that so far is one of the fastest in the world and has already managed to inoculate more than 5 million people, a figure that encompasses the entire population at risk.

    The next goal set by the Government is to inoculate before June the rest of the target population (about 15 million people, out of a total population of 19 million






  • #2
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    • #3
      Chile: COVID19 Cases Hit New Record Despite Country's Massive Vaccination Drive 2 MIN READ Mar 22, 2021 | 19:47 GMT What Happened: COVID19 cases have spiked in Chile since the beginning of March, despite nearly 45% of the population having reportedly received at least the first dose of a vaccine, Reuters reported March 20. The surge of infections and deaths has left hospitals across the country on the verge of collapse, with less than 200 intensive care units (ICUs) now available nationwide. Why It Matters: There is currently no definitive cause for why Chile, which has been a global frontrunner in vaccine distribution, is experiencing such a spike. But there are fears it may signal that immunity to the original COVID19 strain (whether from a vaccine or past infection) may not be as effective in protecting against the new variant from neighboring Brazil. Increased spread of the so-called P1 variant could also indicate that other countries in the region with slower vaccination campaigns may soon experience a similar surge ? prolonging both the health and economic impacts of the pandemic in South America. Background: While little is known about Brazil?s P1 variant, some studies have indicated that it is twice as infectious as the original COVID19 strain and has the potential to evade immunity elicited by previous infection.
      (yd - can't post link, from Stratfor subscription)

      COVID-19 cases have spiked in Chile since the beginning of March, despite nearly 45% of the population having reportedly received at least the first dose of a vaccine, Reuters reported March 20.
      Last edited by sharon sanders; March 23, 2021, 11:30 AM. Reason: added link for our record

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      • #4
        Source: https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/mundo...total-en-chile

        Chile begins confinement due to Covid; 97% of the population remains in total quarantine
        The decision is made when Chile is on the verge of hospital collapse due to a second wave of Covid-19, this despite being one of the most advanced countries in vaccination

        World 03/27/2021 19:56 EFE Updated 20:04

        Santiago de Chile.- More than 16 million people in Chile woke up this Saturday under total quarantine due to the strong advance of Covid-19, in a second wave that these days reaches record figures in the number of new infections detected by health authorities .

        The measure, which affects 97% of the country's population, was reinforced this weekend with the suspension of permits to make purchases, also including the closure of supermarkets and the suspension of the operation of markets throughout the country.

        To date, the Chilean hospital network is on the verge of collapse, with an occupancy of 95% and the availability of 147 intensive care (ICU) beds throughout the territory, with 2,514 people hospitalized in ICU and 2,142 of them supported with mechanical ventilation.

        "It has been a difficult and painful year," said Chilean President Sebasti?n Pi?era, adding that "the days and weeks to come will be too."

        He also reads: Coronavirus: WHO affirms that the situation in Chile shows that vaccination is not a substitute for prevention

        Although Pi?era does not usually participate in the daily reports of the progress of the pandemic, this time he was present with the health authorities to reinforce the message regarding the measures that the population should take.

        "Soon we will begin to see more clearly the effects of mass vaccination (...) we need more than ever the commitment of our compatriots," said the president.

        Despite the magnitude of the government's inoculation campaign, which so far reaches 6.3 million people with a first dose, it has not been possible to contain the spread of the virus.

        Along with failures in risk communication recognized by the health authorities themselves, experts have emphasized measures that have not considered scientific evidence, such as the opening of places conducive to crowds, ineffective dynamic quarantines and a care approach that leaves in debt the traceability of cases.

        The situation comes at a delicate moment for the political life of the country, while four elections are scheduled for April 10 and 11, including the one that will determine the delegates who will draft a new Fundamental Charter for Chile.

        Asked about the possibility of postponing the elections after the explicit recommendation of the expert council that advises the Ministry of Health (Minsal), the head of the portfolio, Enrique Paris, pointed out that "it has to be evaluated by the Ministry and the political spectrum to make a decision ", but said that any resolution will always be" based on health. "

        He also reads: Chile is the country that vaccinates the fastest against Covid-19 in the world, reveals a report

        According to the Undersecretary of Healthcare Networks, in the last 24 hours 7,588 new infections were detected, reaching a total of 969,913 infected since the beginning of the pandemic.

        In turn, the authority reported the death of 66 people in the last day, raising the number of deaths from Covid-19 to 22,653 and more than 30,000 considering suspected cases -without positive PCR-.

        With 41,177 active cases nationwide, that is, people with contagion capacity, the positivity rate in the country is 9.3%, and 8% in the Metropolitan Region.

        The government, which has committed 35 million doses to carry out its vaccination plan, expects to immunize 80% of the population by the end of June.

        jabf / lsm

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        • #5
          Ivan Alvarado/Reuters/Alamy Since the beginning of the year Santiago airport in Chile has been busy distributing millions of covid-19 vaccines as the country has joined some of the world’s richest nations at the top of the vaccination table. To date Chile has ordered over 88 million doses of vaccine, enough to fully vaccinate more than double …


          News The Big Picture
          Covid-19: Chile joins top five countries in world vaccination league
          BMJ 2021; 372 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n718 (Published 17 March 2021)
          Cite this as: BMJ 2021;372:n718
          Article
          Since the beginning of the year Santiago airport in Chile has been busy distributing millions of covid-19 vaccines as the country has joined some of the world?s richest nations at the top of the vaccination table.

          To date Chile has ordered over 88 million doses of vaccine, enough to fully vaccinate more than double its 19 million people. The government?s ambitious goal is to vaccinate 80% of its population by June. This week around 25% had received at least one dose, putting Chile just behind Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the UK in terms of jabs delivered.

          The strategy was developed last summer, when the government, realising that an effective programme could win back support from voters angry at its pandemic response, held early price negotiations with companies developing vaccines. It also invited AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac, and CanSino to hold phase III trials in the country.

          Its biggest order is for 66 million doses from the Chinese company Sinovac, one of which was given to President Sebasti?n Pi?era in February, just days after the start of a drive to vaccinate all care home residents in Santiago. The city has been hit by more than a third of Chile?s 812?344 infections. More than 20?000 Chileans have died from covid-19.
          "The only security we have is our ability to adapt."

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          • #6


            Sunday March 28, 2021 | 13:58
            ICU and Valpara?so Hospital morgue collapses: bodies are stored in corridors

            The Valpara?so region broke a new record of infections and registered 880 new confirmed cases of covid-19 . While the hospitals in the region are at maximum capacity, in Valpara?so the Carlos Van Buren Hospital confirmed that it had to enable a new space to guard the bodies of the deceased.
            The region is going through its most critical moment of the pandemic. And it is that not only the number of new infections generates alarm in the region, but also the hospital situation, because it is reaching its maximum capacity, as confirmed by the authorities.


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