After a vertiginous rise in the number of infections and deaths from Covid-19, the outlook in Barranquilla is once again encouraging.
This is confirmed by the figures provided by the district health secretary, Humberto Mendoza, after comparing the infection and recovery rates in the city.
According to Mendoza, 77.6% of infected patients have recovered in the capital of the Atlantic, which is equivalent to a total of 24,666 people.
He also presented the data of positive cases that decreased from 50 to 15%.
The availability of intensive care units is 52%, which indicates an occupation of the
48%. Of this number, 12% are suspected of Covid-19 and 18% are confirmed cases. The rest belong to other pathologies.
“The indicators of intensive care units show a clear decrease and stability in recent weeks.”
The secretary attributes the good results to the +60 strategy that seeks to detect and treat patients over 60 years of age in time, whose risk is associated with pathologies such as high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Number of tests
Faced with the question about how the city is progressing in number of tests, the official replied that one of the great strengths of Barranquilla is its great sampling capacity. “It is the city with the largest sample in the country,” he reaffirmed.
This is supported by the expansion of certified laboratories in the processing of tests.
“We have a robust capacity in Covid-19 diagnosis. We went from having a laboratory in March to having 16 laboratories to date “
In numbers, this means that it went from having 80 tests to an average of 3,000 tests processed daily.
The Ministry of Health assured that up to the current period, more than 161 thousand have been carried out for Covid-19 diagnoses in Barranquilla.
Despite this favorability, the Secretary of Health insists on maintaining sanitary measures and not trusting the current situation with respect to the pandemic.
“We continue working on this and on all the strategies proposed. We are not going to lower our guard in any way, “he added.
According to the report of the Ministry of Health, Barranquilla registered 400 infections and 6 deaths in the report this Friday, August 7. The one-digit figure in the fatality rate, which has been in force in recent days, yesterday registered 4.7%.
The effect of the measures
The internist and epidemiologist Juan Pablo Moreno attributes the decrease in the numbers “to the experience that was acquired in the management of these patients in intensive care units, hospitalization rooms and / or emergencies by health personnel.”
For Moreno, the adoption of management protocols, the timely detection of infected persons and the measures adopted by the district administration have been key to advancing in the management of the pandemic.
“This does not mean a victory, it is well known by all that the war continues, as long as the country is not declared free from the pandemic and we do not have a curative therapy (a possible vaccine) it is essential to continue with the measures implemented, since the The possibility of a regrowth once we go back to ‘normality’ is very latent, that has happened in other regions of the world ”.
Recovered patient
Justo Herrera, 81, became one of the 24 thousand recovered from Covid-19 in Barranquilla last Thursday.
The older adult was admitted to the Santa María road.
Mayor Jaime Pumarejo, in addition to revealing a video of Herrera leaving the hospital, made a call to continue taking care of himself and keeping the city’s numbers down.
“These testimonies are always a source of joy. Justo Herrera, 81, overcame Covid-19 on the CAMINO Santa María. Our call continues to be to take care of our elders, to celebrate life when all this happens ”.
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