Bogota begins use of plastic oxygen helmets for Covid patients

One of the busiest public hospitals in the Colombian capital Bogota has acquired 12 oxygen helmets that help COVID-19 patients breathe more easily.

Dr. Carlos Olivers Coban, who specializes in emergency care at the El Tunal Hospital, said Thursday the helmets help keep patients out of the hospital's intensive care unit.

"Lowering the instances of them in the ICU, lowers their getting hospital infections... and that has an impact and influence on the mortality of our patients," he said.

The helmets are used on patients over the age of 35. By allowing patients to continue breathing more easily, they reduce the need for intubation. This increases their chance of a speedy recovery from the virus, he said.

The helmets, which have been used in other countries around the world, were purchased on the internet for 30 million Colombian pesos ($8,600 US dollars) with the help of the Manuela Bertrand University.

Bogota has increased its ICU capacity which in March 2020 had 935 beds but now has 2,413 beds for patients.

The city currently has 571,951 active cases of COVID-19 and 11,580 deaths resulting from the virus.