Against the background of a rejection in infections confirmed by Covid-19 and increases in hospitalizations reminiscent of the worst months of last year, there is a consensus among the scientific community that the government no longer has time to act and prevent figures that compromise the hospital system and lead to more than a dozen deaths a day since cause the dangerous virus.
“It is no secret that this mayor Semana, unfortunately, was not a week of reflection for many, it was more than a week of celebration, and the videos that circulated there show that we will probably see many other infections in the next weeks. What we want is that the work done with the executive orders that came out in January, under this new administration, not to be lost “, he said. Marcos López Casillas, biochemist and member of The scientific coalition composed of the governor Pedro Pierluisi.
After Easter, there are still seven days of validity of the current executive order to participate in the health emergency and both the Scientific Coalition and the School Surveillance System of Department of Health they have already written in writing the need to restrict restrictions in the short term.
However, on Saturday evening, the Secretary of Health appointed, Carlos Mellado, ruled out returning, for two weeks, exclusively to virtual teaching, despite the recommendation Surveillance system for the education sector of the Agency in a document that incorporated data by 1 April.
The head of the Department of Health also did not talk about the recommendations presented by the Scientific Coalition on April 2, which include additional restrictions on restaurant capacity, strictly comply with sanitation measures in shopping malls, extend vacation hours and implement aggressive travel risk campaigns. as well as the need to continue basic prevention practices, such as the use of masks. The report warns that, based on the number of cases currently detected, the death toll in the coming weeks could be around 16 a day.
“I did not see the expected response from the government (to the reports). One of the things we need to understand is that, despite the fact that there are additional systems to those we had last year, such as the existing vaccination process and the protocols implemented, surveillance systems are created precisely to give a warning and make recommendations that may prevent us from entering a delicate situation. However, it would seem that what we use is a system of counting and colors to see if we are good or bad and do nothing about it, “said the public health doctor. Marysel Pagan.
In recent weeks, as the number of Covid-19 cases has increased and, as a result, hospitalizations and the use of intensive care units and ventilators have become clear, Governor Pierluisi has refused to promote specific measures, insisting that numbers remain. peak that was recorded in December last year.
On the 10th of that month, Puerto Rico woke up with 657 people hospitalized with Covid-19, while yesterday the Department of Health reported the occupation of 257 beds, along with 56 adults in intensive care and another 30 breathing through a fan. However, on 19 March, the figures were 138, 17 and 21 respectively.
In parallel, the rate of positivity or the percentage of diagnostic tests that identify the presence of the virus has doubled, from less than 5% to about 10%, considered an alarming level.
the president College of Physicians, Victor Ramos, warned that the approach of the first executive, if transposed into public policy, opens the door for us to continue to experience the increase in figures and, at worst, to see a repeat of what happened in the last quarter of 2020.
“In September, the medical groups told him that yes, we are short, but the curve goes up, which was the mayors’ curve. The data being small, they made the biggest opening in September and that led us in November and December. We can’t wait to be at 600 (hospitalized) to say we’ll hang up, because we’re definitely going there if no action is taken now. We need to educate the components of the government, which do not come from the medical or scientific sector “, said the pediatrician.
In an interview with MetroRamos was cautious when commenting on the hypothetical closure of schools that resumed face-to-face education, recalling that pediatric groups encourage children and young people to go to schools that have the appropriate protocols.
“We are concerned that, regardless of the recommendations of the monitoring system, the same school protocol states that if one of the levels (indicators) is red (critical), all schools must be closed, so it would eventually end. it happens anyway, “Ramos said.
“You have to set, in the middle of returning, the priorities of what we want to leave open, whether schools or other places. The numbers are where people get it from. Shopping malls climbed to third place (people) who mentioned that they were in a restaurant before the positive increased from 6.7% to 13.8%, who are largely not employees, but trades who take off their masks “, added the doctor.
Meanwhile, López Casillas pointed out that the Scientific Coalition, when presenting its report, did not have data at hand to suggest that schools could be a source of contagion and therefore a total or partial closure was not recommended. in the opening document educational centers.
“If colleagues in the school monitoring system indicate that their data is what they are throwing away, it should definitely be taken into account. There are other jurisdictions that, for less than that, seek and close schools and isolate. I think that if it is shown that the process that takes place in schools, at least in some, turns into one that can be in danger, a decision must be made to make that source and see how we can improve it, ” he said Puerto Rico Public Health Trust.
Pagán, for his part, stressed that we should not start from the premise that the school population is safe, either because there are minors who usually do not get complicated if they become infected, or employees who, according to Health, have already been vaccinated for the most part.
“The new variants, which the same secretary said are in Puerto Rico and there is community transmission, affect minors in a different way than what we noticed in the first place. The claim that minors are not affected in the same way is not as true (as before). The school environment not only has minors, but (should take into account) that family context of that minor, that teacher and that parent, who interacts, ”Pagán pointed out, recalling that vaccination against Covid-19 was not established as a requirement for teachers to return to work and that the effect of available vaccines against variants of the virus, such as that identified in Brazil, is uncertain.