Coronavirus: ‘Situation is going to get worse before it gets better,’ health group says

JACQUELINE CHARLES. Miami Herald. April 7, 2020

The informal economy is the lifeblood of Latin America. Now it's under threat by the coronavirus.

The coronavirus pandemic is rapidly accelerating in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the number of new cases and virus-related deaths are rising., the director of the World Health Organization’s regional office for the Americas said.

“The situation is going to get worse before it gets better,” Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, said Tuesday during the health group’s weekly video press briefing on the situation of the global pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the past seven days, the number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease, have more than doubled, Etienne said. As of Tuesday, there were more than 385,000 positive cases and 11,270 deaths.

This includes six reported cases in Nicaragua, where PAHO is questioning the reporting and said it is concerned about leader Daniel Ortega government’s treatment of the pandemic. The Nicaraguan government, which has done almost nothing to try to stop the spread of the virus, has said the risks are overrated and encouraged citizens to go about their everyday lives.

“PAHO has been concerned about the response to COVID-19 as seen in Nicaragua,” Etienne said. “We have concerns for the lack of social distancing, the convening of mass gatherings. We have concerns about the testing, contact tracing, the reporting of cases. We also have concerns about what we see as inadequate infection prevention and control.”

The Central American nation, Etienne said, has received the same guidelines that every one of its member states has received, as well as personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, testing kits, technical support and guidelines.

“Formally and informally we have raised those concerns with the national authorities of Nicaragua,” she added. “But let me say that Nicaragua is a sovereign country. The government makes decisions for its people and decides what and how its response will be structured.”

Over the past few weeks, PAHO member states have ramped up testing, expanded curfews and even tightened quarantine measures by moving to 24-hour lockdowns, with residents in smaller island-nations only allowed to leave their homes for the grocery stores and gas stations on particular days based on their last names. Also following the lead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, governments have revised guidelines on the use of face masks and are recommending that citizens cover their faces with cloth in public settings.

‘It is essential that we reserve professional grade, protective equipment and especially face masks for the health workers that need them most,” said Etienne, noting that Tuesday was World Health Day.

Etienne said while it’s difficult to forecast when the peak will happen for the region, the next three to six weeks are expected to be difficult. She urged regional governments “to respond and prepare” for COVID-19 at the same speed new cases of the respiratory disease were emerging.

“Many of our countries will begin to see an increase in their number of cases and some of our countries will begin to experience an overwhelming of their health systems and we would also see an increased number of cases,” Etienne said. “Of course all of this depends on how well our member states execute their social distancing... and whether we have sufficient [intensive care unit] beds to manage critically ill patients and whether we have something as basic as ventilators and [personal protective equipment].”

With difficult weeks ahead, Etienne said “solidarity and coordination” among countries will be essential to ensure that nations make the most of the limited supplies available. And while not singling out any particular nation, she did address an emerging concern in the region as ventilators, respiratory masks and other protective medical equipment become scarce and vulnerable nations find themselves blocked from accessing them amid the high demand.

“Now is not the time to hoard or stockpile. It is the time for easing export restrictions and embracing flexible regulations that enable access in the places that will be hardest hit in the next few weeks,” she said. “It is essential we reserve professional grade, protective equipment especially face masks for the health workers that need them most.”