Guatemala declares red alert in its hospital network due to Covid-19 increase

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Guatemala declared this Wednesday a red alert in its hospital network due to the increase in cases of covid-19 infection, which in 13 months has caused the death of 7,309 people.

Guatemala has a population of about 17.2 million, about the same as the Netherlands.

The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS) informed that this maximum alert is institutional in its communication channels.

The health ministry explained that it declared “the hospital red alert due to the increase in cases of covid-19 in national and temporary hospitals so that the services are prepared with the necessary personnel, supplies, and equipment to attend the population”.

As of the latest update, released Wednesday, authorities had recorded 216,329 infections in the Central American country and 7,309 deaths from SARS-CoV-2 since March 2020.

According to the same update, 1,629 new infections and 30 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

In a statement, MSPAS detailed that the declared red alert implies that hospitals must activate their Hospital Emergency Operations Center (COE-H), hold daily sessions to analyze the situation, and make timely decisions against the disease.

Besides, they must review the supply of disaster supplies and provide feedback to staff on biosecurity measures according to the degree of exposure they have with patients.

According to the text, hospitals should identify areas of expansion to prevent the massive flow of patients, ensure reserves of oxygen, supplies, and equipment for patients and update the number of available beds assigned for covid-19.

The authorities emphasized that the alert was issued due to the increase in cases of covid-19, which in the last 15 days alone infected more than 17,000 Guatemalans, and the saturation of temporary hospitals with severe cases.

According to the government presided over by Alejandro Giammattei, the country of 16.3 million inhabitants is currently facing the third wave of the disease, with an increase in cases and deaths in recent weeks.

The 7,309 deaths from covid-19 in Guatemala are the highest in Central America, followed by Panama and Honduras.

However, a study released by the organization Laboratorio de Datos found last March that during the first year of the pandemic in Guatemala, more than 15,000 people died from covid-19.