The novel coronavirus has killed greater than 100 well being staff in Mexico, authorities stated Monday, prompting continued issues in regards to the pandemic’s lethal toll on the nation’s comparatively small hospital workforce.
Sizzling spots world wide have additionally reported alarming fatalities in front-line personnel, however Mexico has far fewer docs and nurses per capita than hard-hit nations reminiscent of Spain and Italy, The Washington Put up’s Mary Beth Sheridan reported.
About half of all Mexicans depend on the Social Safety Institute, a big, federally run well being community, which employed 45 p.c of those that died.
Though hospital beds and ventilators remain far from capacity, Mexicans have anxious that spreading outbreaks in hospitals and a scarcity of protecting tools might impair their nation’s pandemic response.
Hugo López-Gatell, Mexico’s assistant well being secretary, said Monday that fatalities up to now have included 66 docs, 16 nurses and 29 different hospital workers, together with workers reminiscent of lab technicians.
Greater than 8,500 medical staff have been confirmed to have the virus, though that determine jumps to greater than 15,200 when counting suspected circumstances, together with these nonetheless ready on check outcomes.
But Mexico will nonetheless take steps to reopen its economic system on the finish of the month, as López-Gatell advised plans for a partial reopening could be introduced in full later this week.
“It now not is sensible to maintain up nationwide social distancing restrictions,” he said on Twitter, “due to the notable disparity within the unfold between areas.”
In 5 cities, the variety of circumstances has been trending downward, whereas different cities are seeing infections climb, and a few have reported no circumstances in any respect, he added.
The nation’s whole caseload stands at greater than 36,000, according to a Johns Hopkins College tally, though authorities have stated that determine might be an undercount as a consequence of a scarcity of widespread testing.
