A week after his confirmation as Health Secretary for the second time, the psychiatrist Lorenzo González Feliciano He admits that he has felt drained and emotionally drained at the end of these past few days.
However, he warned that, on his way to direct the government’s efforts in the containment of COVID-19, there have been great successes, such as directing the agency’s epidemiological efforts.
“The challenge has been to find the work team, because the epidemiology was not there, but Dr. David Capó is very good and he joined the team very quickly,” said the secretary about the new epidemiologist from the State, who Days ago, he held the position vacated by Dr. Carmen Deseda.
Graduated from the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico, Capó has a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Public Health of this institution.
His mission, he said, will be to redirect Health’s efforts to delineate the epidemiology of the virus and trace positive and suspicious cases in order to control the chain of transmission on the island.
“We needed a solid head to direct the ‘tracing’ (of the cases) and get the data. If necessary, we will obtain additional resources“Said the psychiatrist.
He warned that the Health Department is large and has resources, although he stressed that many were not being used in the proper way.
González Feliciano acknowledged the great shortage of personal protective equipment and how this situation has endangered all health personnel, especially those who work in hospitals and have more contact with positive and suspected cases of the virus.
He commented that purchase orders have been made to distribute these items among hospitals and first responders. “What arrives is being distributed. Today (yesterday) itself, equipment that has arrived is being distributed, but we need more, ”said the headline.
He explained that the distribution of these protection articles is made taking into account the recommendations of the “task force”. Dr. Dharma Vázquez is leading that effort, she said.
Vázquez is the dean of the Graduate School of Public Health of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico and is a member of the “task force” that advises the governor on the coronavirus.
González Feliciano warned that the recent recommendation issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the use of masks as a barrier to protect against the virus causes these equipment, which are scarce in Puerto Rico and the United States, to have be distributed among more people. He insisted that the priority will be health professionals and people who work in the first response line.
In order to protect health professionals from the risk of contagion of this disease that has already claimed the lives of at least 18 people in Puerto Rico, including a nurse, González Feliciano emphasized that telemedicine and teleconsultation mechanisms should be used to Minimize close contact with patients during this public health emergency by a few lines.
“We have to promote telemedicine or direct cases by phone. That should be patient management for now“He expressed.
He recalled that last week there was a meeting with representatives of the Association of Hospitals and health insurance companies, both private and those that administer the Health Reform. There, he said, the establishment of rates and coding so that health providers can bill for telemedicine and teleconsultation services was discussed.
About the diagnostic tests of COVID-19, the headline highlighted that the country’s hospitals and laboratories have also promised these days to accept a flat fee of $ 52 for molecular laboratory tests (PCR). In the case of rapid laboratory tests, the fee to be paid is around $ 35 to $ 38, he said.
Meanwhile, González Feliciano indicated that the “task force” analyzes the number of people who have recovered from the virus, as well as those who are hospitalized.
“That data exists and is being collected. We know that the majority are asymptomatic (without symptoms), so we are going to see more positives outside (of the hospital) than those that require hospitalization, ”he said.
Regarding the Bayamón Regional Hospital, he indicated that, although yesterday there were ten rooms available to attend to these cases, the goal is to enable up to 60 rooms to treat these patients.
“Between April 15 and May 8, there can be a significant number of positive cases and many with severe symptoms of the condition,” he said of the period in which the peak of infections on the island will be reached.
He warned that there are not enough mechanical respirators to attend to all the people who may need this respiratory assistance team, which is why he urged that citizens continue to obey and respect social distancing measures.
“We can’t take this lightly“He concluded.
– .
