Alert in Uruguay: Coronavirus cases in Colonia triple in 12 days

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute, the index estimates the incidence of coronavirus – either in a country or a department – based on the average number of new cases in the past 7 days. The calculation is based on a total of 100,000 inhabitants.

The P7 indicator shows the intensity of incidence in 4 colors: green is used for values between 0 and 1, yellow between 1 and 10, orange between 10 and 25, and red if the value is higher.

Overall, Uruguay remains yellow with an index of 3.76. However, Colonia tripled its Harvard index in 12 days, according to the director of the Chair of Infectious Diseases Julio Medina on Twitter.

According to data from the Coronavirus Uy app with official figures from the National Emergency System (SINAE) and the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), on September 29, Colonia had a Harvard index of 2.71. On October 5 it reported an increase in the indicator to 4.01 and on October 10 to 8.13.

Colonia is one of the departments with the highest rate of people vaccinated against Covid-19 in Uruguay, with a current resident population of 131,711. Of these, 84.48% have been administered the first dose and 77.36% the second dose. In addition, it has administered 38,778 booster doses. Yesterday it reported 97 active and 7 new cases.

The data come at a time when Argentina and Uruguay are moving towards a reopening of borders. The port of Colonia is one of the main entry points to Uruguay from Buenos Aires.