The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) stressed that the Americas region should intensify public health actions, such as social distancing, restricting meetings, using masks and hand washing to limit exposure to the population during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our region and our world are failing to control the coronavirus. Public policies are not in line with the gravity of the situation in too many places and many of us have relaxed the control measures that we know work and that have helped us so far to stay healthy and run hospitals, “he said -a press conference.
Etienne added that he is “particularly worried about the coming weeks. Throughout our region, especially in North and South America, many hospitals operate at or very close to their capacity. ”
He referred to the high occupancy rates in the intensive care units, the lack of oxygen in some areas and the lack of capacity to cope with the speed with which new infections appear due to the “sustained increase in cases”.
He also pointed out that “in the last week we have seen over 2.5 million new cases of Covid-19 in America – equivalent to more than half of all infections worldwide – and 42,000 people have lost life as a result of the pandemic ”.
“We need to intensify public health actions to limit the population’s exposure to this virus. Social distancing, restricted gatherings, constant use of masks in public places and frequent hand washing are our best hopes of reducing the number of Covid-19 infections at this time, ”said Etienne.
Vaccines are not enough
Covid-19 vaccines will help save lives and “eventually stop the pandemic,” he said, “but we need to be aware that the doses we currently have are not enough to have an impact. visible on the transmission of the virus. right now and in the short term. The doses available today for use are very limited and will continue to be reduced throughout.