The regrowth of Covid triggers alarms in Santander, the authorities intensify the vaccination days

A sustained increase in new cases of Covid-19 has recorded the department of Santander, as highlighted in the last four reports issued by the National Institute of Health (INS) and the Ministry of Health (Minsalud).

The most recent report indicates this From 2 to 7 December, 444 new cases of coronavirus were registered in Santander, making it the department with the fourth highest number of infections reported in one week, after Bogotá (2,078), Valle (917) and Antioquia (782).

The data is really worrying, because it represents a 136% increase over the past seven days compared to the immediately preceding week when 188 cases had been recorded. Faced with this situation, the health authorities are calling on Santanderians to adopt extreme self-care measures and, in particular, to resume the use of masks to prevent the spread of the virus.

“What is established must be accepted to avoid the increase in cases that is taking place. We must be aware that the virus remains and that we still need to protect ourselves, especially in this holiday season, which is when we gather more with friends and family and there are bigger crowds,” said Departmental Health Secretary, Javier Alonso Villamizar Suárez.

This new spike in cases could occur for several reasons, such as “the new variant circulating in the country, called ‘hell hound’, and also due to the circulation of respiratory viruses, due to the rainy season we are experiencing throughout the territory”, added the departmental secretary of Health.

From December 1st in Santander, 4,005,980 doses of anticovid vaccines have been applied. However, only 1,663,602 people received the two vaccine doses and the single dose., or 72% of the population has comprehensive schemas, according to data from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane). Furthermore, 603,213 citizens applied the third dose, and 86,168 the second booster dose.

To stop the spread of the virus, both the departmental and municipal health secretariats have intensified prevention checks and vaccination days so that citizens can complete the vaccination calendar against Covid-19. the first reinforcer for those over 12 and the second reinforcer for those over 50.

“We invite all Santanderians to be responsible and to wear a mask, especially if they have the flu, on public transport, in hospitals, health centers or when they go to visit the elderly”, underlined Villamizar Suárez.

Nationwide

The INS reported that 5,336 new cases were registered from December 2 to 7; 43,882 tests were processed, including 19,779 PCR and 24,103 antigens, resulting in 32 deaths. For active cases, the figure is reported at 5,887.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health urges the EPS to look for strategies to attract citizens towards a vaccination and counter the coronavirus.

According to a report by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the worldwide figure stands at 647,560,719, with a total of 6,648,433 deaths so far, for the same week (December 2-7).

“From @MinSaludCol, we call on EPS and territories to strengthen vaccination strategies against covid-19,” he says on his official Twitter account.