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After three days in which the bed occupancy of the Intensive Care Units in Antioquia remained above 80 percent, the Departmental Government acted according to the established protocol and declared a hospital red alert.This means that the Antioquia Health Section will restrict some health services and will not perform surgeries or other non-urgent procedures.
Figures from the departmental administration indicate that of the 1,185 ICU beds that the department has enabled, 945 are for covid patients. Of these, 770 are occupied with covid patients and 240 with non-covid patients.
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Aníbal Gaviria, governor of Antioquia, said that this occupation of over 80 percent has been in the Aburrá valley for more than five days.
Precisely, he indicated that the decision was made to optimize human personnel and medical equipment to attend to urgent cases, whether they are covid or non-covid.
“This decision also has the purpose of protecting all our health personnel and avoiding the accumulation of exhaustion of them so that they continue attending the pandemic”Gaviria explained.
The departmental president recalled that unlike the first declaration of a red alert, decreed last July; the current ICU occupancy is much higher than on that occasion.
This is not the time for celebrations. We are at a time of high risk of contagion
Likewise, Gaviria indicated that from next week they will begin with a plan to continue increasing the number of ICU beds and UCRE beds (Special Respiratory Care Unit).
(Read also: Daniel Quintero launched an alert about the occupation of the UCI in Medellín)
Finally, the governor indicated that from now on he will begin to manage meetings to coordinate with the mayors of the municipalities with the most covid-19 cases, as well as with the National Government, actions to avoid celebrations during Halloween at the end of October.
“This is not the time for celebrations. We are at a time of high risk of contagion,” Gaviria said.With cut to September 22, Antioquia has 149,191 positive cases of coronavirus, of which 4,134 are active.
