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Despite mounting the world’s fastest per capita Covid-19 vaccination campaign, Chile has been forced to announce new strict closures as it plunges further into a second wave of severe cases that is expanding intensive care capacity.
Chile trails only Israel and the United Arab Emirates in vaccine doses per 100 people worldwide, but new cases have risen rapidly amid mixed health messages, travel during southern hemisphere summer holidays and the circulation of new variants.
Almost half of the South American country’s population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, but on Friday, Chile recorded 7,626 new cases in a 24-hour period, the highest total at any time during the pandemic, and is now approaching 1 million cases in total.
More than 80% of the 19 million inhabitants of the country, including all the inhabitants of the capital, Santiago, have been subjected to a strict closure that prevents them from leaving home even to buy food or pharmacy supplies this weekend. During the week, each person has two short-term permits to leave the house to buy essentials and can exercise outdoors between 7 am and 8:30 am. Only 169 intensive care beds remain available nationwide, an occupancy rate of more than 95%.
Covid Chile cases
Health officials asked people to stay home whenever possible.
“The new variants that arrive in Chile are a great concern, and indeed we have one pandemic on top of another now,” said Dr. Ximena Aguilera, an epidemiologist who is part of the government’s Covid-19 advisory committee.
“Unlike before, we are also seeing severe cases among younger people, and there is a feeling that some people have become complacent towards the end of the summer with the vaccines going so well.”
A total of 22,587 people have died in the country from contracting the virus, and in Chile British and Brazilian strains of the virus have been detected. Its cumulative mortality rate relative to the population remains well below that of Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Argentina.
Chile began its successful vaccination campaign with frontline health workers on December 24 and aims for 80% of the country’s inhabitants to be vaccinated by June 30.
More than 6 million people have received at least one dose of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine or the American Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and 3.2 million have received both injections.
Chile Covid deaths
Chile continues to outperform other countries in the region: its rate of 49.19 vaccination doses per 100 people is well above the 7.79 of Brazil, its closest competitor. In early March, the Chilean government was even able to donate 20,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine to Ecuador and Paraguay.
Acceptance of the vaccine has been good among older Chileans, who are used to extensive winter flu campaigns enabled by a strong public health network. Everyone age 50 and older will be able to get a first dose before April 10.
“The problem with communication is that it has not been consistent throughout the government,” Aguilera explained. “While the Health Ministry has repeatedly asked people to take care of themselves, the Economy Minister has been opening casinos, gyms and cinemas.”
Others have pointed to government-issued vacation permits that allowed movement between areas of the country during the summer.
The Santiago metropolitan region is home to almost 40% of Chile’s population and is the only one of its 16 regions that does not have a coastline. In much of the city, people are crammed into small apartments with limited access to green areas and leisure spaces, and Aguilera’s committee was emphatic in recommending that people be allowed out of the cities during the summer, whenever precautions are taken.
Covid Chile vaccines
However, with international travel still allowed, many Chileans took advantage of cheap flights to Miami, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and other destinations, prompting the government to tighten restrictions on returning travelers, but not until after the end of the season. summer vacation season.
Everyone entering the country as of March 31 will now have to stay in a hotel for five days on their own, before completing five more days of quarantine elsewhere.
“I am sure that the vaccines will alleviate the number of cases once a sufficient number of the population has been subjected, but it is unlikely that a positive effect will be seen in terms of reducing hospitalizations and severe cases in older people before mid-April, “Aguilera said.
• This article was amended on March 28, 2021 to clarify the current blocking rules in Chile. An earlier version said that the restrictions meant that the majority of the inhabitants could not leave the house even to make essential purchases; this applies to the weekend, but during the week there is a permit system in place.
