South American health care networks are struggling as Omicron cases rise Coronavirus pandemic News

The rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant has caused severe warnings to health workers in South America as workers are putting pressure on hospitals on sick leave due to a lack of COVID-19 treatment facilities.

A large hospital in Bolivia’s largest city has stopped admitting new patients due to a lack of staff. One of Brazil’s most populous states has suspended one-month scheduled operations. And the Argentine Federation of Private Healthcare Providers told the Associated Press news agency that it estimates that about 15 percent of health care workers have the virus.

The third wave is “affecting the health care team, from cleaning staff to technicians, with a high percentage of patients, despite the full vaccination schedule,” said Jorge Coronel, president of the Argentine Medical Confederation.

“Although the symptoms are mostly mild or moderate, this group needs to be isolated.”

About two-thirds of South America’s 435 million residents are fully immunized, the highest percentage in any region of the world, according to Our World in Data, and health workers in Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina are already receiving booster shots.

But the number of Omicron variants has risen in the number of cases.

Argentina has confirmed an average of 112,000 cases per week as of January 16, up from 3,700 a month earlier, according to data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health. a jump an average of 69,000 cases a day for seven days at a time, 1,900 percent more than the previous month.

The Council of Brazilian Secretaries of Health estimates that between 10 and 20 percent of all health care professionals – including doctors, nurses, nurse technicians, ambulance drivers and others in direct contact with patients – have been laid off since the last week of 2021.

“We’re having trouble making schedules,” said Carlos Lula, the city’s director.

The press office of the Rio de Janeiro Ministry of Health told the AP that about 5,500 professionals have left their jobs since December. All scheduled surgeries scheduled in the state health network have been suspended for four weeks. In terms of urgent care, relocations and overtime are being used as a stopover measure.

“40 per cent of our staff are on sick leave,” said Marcia Fernandes Lucas, health secretary for the Sao Joao de Meriti municipality in the Rio metropolitan area. “We are able to work with those 60 percent by reshaping them (among health centers).”

In Bolivia, public hospitals are operating at a capacity of 50-70 percent due to the high number of infections in health care workers, according to the Bolivian Medical Union.

In Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the country, the Children’s Hospital is overcrowded, but the number of staff is getting sicker than the number of sick people, according to Deputy Director Freddy Rojas. Last week, the facility stopped taking in new patients.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a replacement,” said Jose Luis Guaman, interim president of the Santa Cruz Medical Union.

Last week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) he warned Among the new infections associated with the Omicron variant, the unprecedented health system in the region was being “shaken”.

OPS Director Carissa Etienne said the number of cases in the United States rose to 6.1 million on January 8, compared to 3.4 million on January 1.

“Infections are accelerating in every corner of the Americas, and once again, our health care system is being challenged as emergency room visits and hospitalizations are on the rise,” Etienne said in a news release.