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B. Eugenia Giraldo
THE COUNTRY | Manizales
Marmato tops the list and is followed by La Dorada, Chinchiná and Manizales as the municipalities with the highest incidence of covid cases in Caldas.
This rate is a variable in epidemiology that measures the distribution of a disease in a certain population, which takes into account the number of people and a certain time.
For this report, the incidence of these municipalities in their number of covid cases x 100,000 inhabitants was reviewed. The measurement cut-off is until August 27.
Taking into account the databases of DANE and the National Institute of Health, Marmato has 9,167 inhabitants and 93 confirmed cases; La Dorada, 74,006 people and 426 positives; Chinchiná, 52,267 inhabitants and 159 infected; and Manizales, 446,160 people and 1,346 cases.
This rate shows that these municipalities have the greatest impact of covid-19 cases in relation to the inhabitants of these populations. Although it cannot be ruled out that Aguadas and Supía are very close.
LA PATRIA spoke with the health secretaries of these jurisdictions to learn about the management of the pandemic and its mitigation.
Marmato
Fredy Muñoz, Secretary of Health.
We have a floating population that comes from Supía, Riosucio, Bonafont, La Merced, in Caldas, and from La Pintada and Caramanta, from Antioquia. It amounts to at least 4 thousand people, who arrive every day for mining activities. That is the greatest vulnerability that we have and as a result of the reactivation of the economy, the biosafety protocols were reinforced. The mines that operate must make these measures effective and when a case is reported, the closure is ordered so that people are quarantined. The same happens with commercial establishments.
La Dorada
Lisímaco Andrés Acosta, Secretary of Health.
The contagion is difficult to stop, so we will focus on lowering the mortality rate. We know that this peak will hit us hard, that reactivation announced by the president, Iván Duque, is very risky because with the opening of Medellín, Bogotá and Ibagué it hits intermediate cities, such as La Dorada, where we now have a conglomerate with 45 cases. We will have selective and voluntary isolation of those who have two or more diseases with a higher mortality risk, telephone support lines and home surveillance. Those who do not have the economic capacity, we will support them with food aid and there will be health watches promoting self-care policies.
Chinchina
Eduardo Andrés Grisales, mayor.
We are focusing on taking tests. Although the large percentage of the infected population is active, it also allows us to monitor older people and those with preexistence to prevent them from becoming infected, because this would lead them to the ICU and that is where we do not want to go. To face the peak, we consider making a selective closure in the most affected sectors. We have about 1,500 submissions and despite that, there is a resistance from the community to comply, fortunately, it is not generalized. There is also a risk because not only do the collectors arrive in Chinchiná for the municipality, but they also go to Villamaría, Palestina, the lower part of Manizales and to other areas of the upper west, which is why the problem worsens. The positive is that there is a protocol that the large farms are applying.
Manizales
Carlos Humberto Orozco, Secretary of Health.
Ideally, we continue with less. However, we are growing between 30 and 35 cases per day, in a month we would have about a thousand new affected. With the measures we took a month ago, a decrease in the percentage number of cases is evidenced and the idea is to re-estimate the needs of a new sectoral confinement in other areas where there is more acceleration in the number of positives. As long as all the institutions that open keep their guard up and comply with all the measures, the probability that these sites will become sources of infection is very low. An opening of the economy could be given very judiciously, especially those sectors that offer a low risk of infection.
