translated from Spanish: Curfew in the RM would be shortened next week: there are 140 thousand capitals that are vaccinated

In the midst of the national mourning that the country is experiencing to date in honor of the 36,107 deaths from COVID, 91 of them reported in the last day, the Government yesterday took stock of the impact that the pandemic has left in the 17 months in which it has hit Chile.Since March 2020, when the first infected was detected, tests have detected 1,624,316 patients with coronavirus, so that 8.34% of the Chilean population has developed the disease to date. The undersecretary of Health Care Networks, Alberto Dougnac, reported that of all the infections in 142,134 cases, their cases have led to hospitalization, equivalent to 8.8% of those infected.” Of every 100 people infected, approximately nine have required hospitalization in one of the facilities of the integrated health network,” he said. In addition, 44 thousand infected people required admission to intensive care units, which are 2.7% of the patients and are equivalent to 3 out of every 100 infected. The undersecretary stressed that in recent weeks beds have been released, falling to 83% occupancy, which was not seen since October 2020, with regions such as Ñuble, Aysén and Atacama with less than 50% used, while only Valparaiso remains above 90% of use. It is followed in the highest occupancy by Arica and RM, with 88 and 87%, respectively. The desaturation of the network is “the result” of the “sustained downward trend” of daily infections, an item that yesterday reported 871 cases. The “favorable evolution,” as he described it, prompted the advance of another 42 communes to The Initial Opening and keeps 12 of the 16 regions under a curfew relaxed since midnight. A list to which the Metropolitan Region could be added next week.” We should move forward to the extended curfew as long as people get vaccinated when they are due,” Undersecretary of Public Health Paula Daza said of the restriction in the capital. To access the flexibility, the MRI must immunize with a complete vaccination schedule 80% of its population, a figure that it already achieved with the initial punctures, but there are still 140 thousand capitals that apply the second dose. Daza explained that for this week there are 100 thousand people cited to receive the second puncture, while the other 40 thousand have a date for next week. Minister Enrique Paris insisted on the need for people to complete their immunization, thinking about the impact that the Delta variant has generated in the world, a strain that, he said, makes un vaccinated groups “seriously ill.” Those immunized, he added, generally have a “good evolution” in the face of the mutation. The Minsal reported that they have already identified 86 delta variant infections in the country, 27 more cases than those reported the previous Monday. The figure corresponds to 75 travelers, three of them contacts, and eight community infections that have no relation to people who have entered from abroad. Local infections doubled in a week. From the Seremi de Salud Metropolitana, an area that concentrates the majority of infections of the strain, they told La Tercera that there are also about 500 people under observation for being close contact of those infected with Delta, which includes all passengers who shared a flight with the confirmed cases. Fear resurgencePese to the best pandemic present, in the Minsal alarms have been raised by an incipient increase in cases in Aysén and Magallanes, the two regions that first contained the second wave and that have been weeks with few infections and with all their communes in Phase 4.In the last seven days Aysén showed an increase of 33% of infections with 16 new cases, while Magellan increased them by 29% with 31 confirmed patients. Minister Paris emphasized that while the figures are “obviously lower” at the worst moments of the crisis, they are a sign of “concern,” so he called on its residents to insist on wearing masks, ventilation of enclosed spaces, physical distancing and hand washing.” Please, let us not spoil the progress made, especially in these two regions that have been exemplary in their behaviors,” the secretary of state asked them.Paris showed the same concern about what the Delta strain can generate, which in countries with high vaccination has also shown rapid progress, although with “short-in-time” regrowths. There are threats whenever they are going to complicate the situation a little bit. The Delta variant if it becomes a little more crowded can affect us, “agreed on Radio Cooperativa the president of the Chilean Society of Intensive Care Medicine (Sochimi), Darwin Acuña. The specialist also assured that to combat an eventual regrowth, the network already has the experience acquired “by blows” in the two waves. To combat the circulation of mutations, the Government acquired PCRs that facilitate the rapid detection of variants such as Delta, which speeds up isolation, and from tomorrow will begin booster vaccination to raise antibodies in the elderly population immunized with Sinovac.65% of schools opened Two weeks from the start of the second school semester, the Ministry of Education reported that 10,397 educational establishments have already opened their doors to return to face-to-face classes. There are 6,150 schools (65% of the campuses) and 4,292 gardens (72%). In the RM the return reaches 2,773 establishments, 72% of the total. “We are happy to see the joy of the students, teachers, attorneys and assistants to return,” said Minister Raul Figueroa.

Original source in Spanish