MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Covid-19: Alert issued in Paraguay amid growing number of cases

The most affected age group is between 20 and 39 years old, Paraguayan authorities reported

Paraguayan health authorities have issued an alert amid an increase in the number of Covid-19 and influenza cases that are pushing the national sanitary network to its limits, it was reported in Asunción.

According to the Health Surveillance report, there has been a sustained increase in Covid-19 cases, with 975 new infections last week, 70 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths, which represents a significant growth from 435 cases only three weeks ago.

Of the 70 people hospitalized last week, 67 were admitted in the common ward and 3 in intensive care units. The most affected age group is between 20 and 39 years old, although many patients were aged between 0 and 4 years old.

The most affected regions in the country are Central, Asunción, Guairá, and Itapúa, while 60% of those hospitalized are women. Patients over 60 years of age account for the highest proportion of deaths, it was also explained.

Healthcare centers were instructed to be alert to any signs of alarm during consultations and to make rapid diagnoses while people were urged to seek medical help at the earliest time possible in addition to taking precautions when symptoms of respiratory diseases are detected. Authorities also insisted on the wearing of facemasks if those signs were noticed and also underlined the importance of home isolation measures.

A total of 289 Paraguayans died from Covid-19 in 2023, according to the Health Ministry, which also urged people to get vaccinated, especially patients with underlying diseases, and take other precautions during family gatherings this time of the year. Authorities recalled that a bivalent booster vaccine was available.