Mexico: Coronavirus patients turned away fom hospitals as facilities quickly fill up

Hospitals in Mexico City are reportedly nearing saturation point after they received over 100 coronavirus patients with respiratory distress that required intubation within just two days, a local gazette reported, citing Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum. As both public and private medical facilities were overwhelmed due to surge in cases, patients have been turned away from the hospitals with several older in search of a bed for over 10 hours, as per local media reports.  

With severe respiratory distress caused by the COVID-19 and influx of the patients in need of emergency ventilation, at least 26 out of the 64 public hospitals had drained capacity, according to city government data, as per reports. In the capital’s sprawling metro area, designated to admit the coronavirus patients, hospitals hung the vinyl banner on the fence that stated, “No more beds. We thank you for your understanding”. Among many such hospitals was Ignacio Zaragosa public hospital in the city’s poor Iztapalapa district that ran out of capacity, reports confirmed.  

In Mexico, the public health authorities projected that there could be more than 104,000 COVID-19 cases while speaking at the daily COVID-19 briefings. Further, it said, the capital had up to 38 per cent availability of beds with ventilators, while in the surrounding state of Mexico, 55 per cent remained available. Nationwide, three-quarters of beds with ventilators were still available for new patients, the ministry reportedly said. 

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468 patients intubated

However, according to figures from the National Association of Private Hospitals, beds and intensive care units equipped with ventilators in at least five states and Mexico City were overburdened. And, Of the city’s 16 municipalities, the most affected were reported to be Iztapalapa. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, while speaking at the press conference said, general hospitals at capacity were turning away patients who were now being redirected to medical facilities in the neighbourhood, which is also nearly full.

Of the 8.8 million people population, over 33,460 have been infected, and 3,353 fatalities have been registered by the health officials. In all of Latin America, Mexico’s death toll and the confirmed cases remain the highest, as per state media reports. Over 468 patients have been intubated, while National Institute for Respiratory Diseases, the main center for COVID-19 treatment, has put at least 70 on the ventilator, a record, a local daily reported.  

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(Image Credit: AP)