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In the midst of the increase in cases reported yesterday, and particularly that registered in the capital, the identification of close contacts has remained for months at levels well below the recommended. Meanwhile, 8 municipalities of Greater Santiago are in a critical situation in terms of traceability, added to the resurgence of imported cases in the RM after the airport reopened.
“We have to strengthen the testing strategy, which we are doing; traceability, in which people consult early; and we have isolation, and it is there that the strategy of sanitary residences is fundamental. But the most effective measure is that we all have to take care of ourselves “, underlined the Undersecretary of Health, Paula Daza, after the COVID balance sheet this Thursday in La Moneda.
For his part, President Sebastián Piñera himself pointed out the importance of improving traceability last week, when he announced special plans for the end of the year parties and warned of a second wave of infections.
However, the indicators related to that goal continue to go down a terrible path and far from the recommended minimums. At least since the Ministry of Health began publishing its Testing, Traceability and Isolation (TTA) reports at the end of August, practically no region has scored positive numbers in the key figure to cut the chain of contagion: the reason for contacts by case. That is, the number of people who have managed to identify the tracers as close contact of a positive case.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is advisable to identify at least an average of 10 contacts per case, while countries like Australia usually register around 30 contacts per case. To date, according to the latest TTA report published on Wednesday by Minsal, Chile registers only 2.9 contacts per case, a scenario that has practically not improved at all compared to the first report in August (2.8), almost 4 months ago, when experts warned about poor traceability and warned then that said scope will not allow to stop outbreaks.
In regional detail, according to the latest report, none are even close to the recommended limits. Among the worst appear Los Ríos (1.7), the Metropolitan region (2.2) and Magallanes (2.3), the 3 among the areas where the covid-19 had a high impact. They are followed by Tarapacá, Ñuble and Los Lagos, for below the national registry and the average number of inhabitants per household, which, according to the last census, in Chile reaches 3.1 persons per household; that is, it would not be tracing even the contacts who live with the infected case.
At the other extreme are Aysén (5.5), Coquimbo (4.9) and Arica (4.7), in which the latter stands out, which has registered the best indicators in the country in previous reports and even in the previous one. he had achieved a record of 10.8.
Given its high population density and that just yesterday it returned to Phase 2 (weekend quarantine), the case of the RM and in particular the commune of Santiago, who registered 0.9 contacts per case, despite the importance of traceability in the context of the increase in cases reported by the authority. To the capital is added San Miguel (1.1), Recoleta (1.5), Peñalolén (1.6), La Pintana (1.8), Puente Alto (1.8), Providencia (1.9) and La Florida (1, 9), all of them with significant levels of contagion.
Surprisingly, it is not the worst record in the Santiago commune, which recorded 0.4 contacts per case in the first August report.
The return of imported cases
Another revelation in the latest traceability report shows the return of a trend that was common at the beginning of the pandemic, but which for logical reasons had declined after the border closures: imported cases.
On November 23, after almost 250 days closed due to the pandemic, national borders were reopened to receive the first foreigners, albeit in a limited way: only for those arriving by air and at the Arturo Merino Benítez Airport in the capital.
And precisely the latest report published, which covers from December 28 to 4, showed an exponential growth in cases imported from the RM; that is, notified with entry to Chile the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. The Metropolitan region recorded 70 cases, while in previous periods it had never exceeded 29.
Test, Traceability and Isolation Indicators Report indicates
STRONG INCREASE IN IMPORTED CASES
in the Metropolitan Region the week of Nov 28 to Dec 4
Imported cases: Notified with entry to Chile 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms
1/2 pic.twitter.com/dj08wIQWND
– Ernesto Laval (@elaval) December 9, 2020
Asked about this point, Undersecretary Daza defended the decision to keep the airport open and stressed that for now there will be no change in the measure. “The borders are closed. The only thing that is open is the airport ”, he assured. In addition, he explained that those who enter are required to have a negative PCR of the last 72 hours, an affidavit and epidemiological surveillance is carried out for 14 days. Meanwhile, he said, PCRs are also being randomly taken at the airport from those arriving in the country.
“This measure of the airport allows people to meet. There are many reunion situations. People who have to come to work. We have to balance the needs of people with epidemiological measures, ”he said.
For his part, the minister Paris was open to a possible modification: “A measure is not written in stone and sometimes we advance and sometimes we go backwards. If we notice that there is a sustained, progressive increase, obviously we will sit down to meditate and see if it is necessary to make a change ”, he assured.
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