The Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, ??one of the reference health centers in Catalonia, will once again make it compulsory to wear a mask in the emergency area and for people who visit the sick. This was announced yesterday by RAC1 and confirmed by a spokesperson for the health center to La Vanguardia.
The mandatory nature of the mask will affect patients, companions who are in the waiting room and visitors to hospitalized patients. This is a decision that the hospital has made individually, since each center can adopt the protocol that it deems most appropriate based on the recommendations made by the Generalitat regarding the use of this garment.
The decision comes after a spike in covid cases, as this newspaper published. At the beginning of August, the figures for infections and hospital admissions due to covid accumulated four weeks of growth in Catalonia and stood at levels registered in winter.
Although the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 remains low and experts see no cause for alarm, the positives detected in primary care have skyrocketed and pharmacies have experienced increases in the sale of antigen tests. Some epidemiologists attribute this growth to the appearance of a new variant, already detected in Catalonia. It is a more transmissible modality, but with a low risk to health.
Although they practice few tests, the Catalan outpatient clinics diagnosed a total of 4,531 cases in the week of July 24 to 30 (1,693 in people over 60 years of age), 945 more than in the previous period. It is the highest weekly data since mid-December of last year.
“The vast majority are mild cases”, stated on that occasion the president of the Col·legi de Metges de Barcelona, ??Jaume Padrós. “We don’t have to be uneasy. Act with common sense: if you suspect, perform tests, and if you are from risk groups, consult your doctor. And be prudent: protect yourself and others,” he added on Twitter.
Parallel to the infections, the increase in the number of hospitalized was detected: 376 people (283 over 60 years of age) on July 30, 66 more than in the previous week and the highest figure since week 4 (23 to January 29), when 383 admitted were registered.
The increase is significant since July 2, when the lowest number of hospitalized for covid of the year was recorded: 223 patients. On the other hand, the number of those admitted to the ucis (13) has remained stable in recent weeks.
The upward trend is not exclusive to Catalonia. In Madrid, 735 positives were reported in the last week, 45.3% more than in the previous week. This increase was fueled by various outbreaks, some of which occurred in hospitals.
Carolina Garcia-Vidal, a specialist in infectious diseases at the Hospital Clínic, highlights the growth in the number of positives detected in outpatient clinics – “it is skyrocketing” – and disseminated some basic advice. With fever, headache or poor general condition, a test should be performed. If it is negative but the symptoms persist after 48 hours, a new test.
The population at risk should consult a doctor: “You can greatly benefit from starting antiviral treatment early. Life is going for you!” The doctor recalls the usefulness of paracetamol against symptoms and the need to protect the population at risk by avoiding contact. “Unfortunately, the covid has not disappeared. Things have changed, without a doubt, but for a certain population it is still potentially deadly ”, she concludes.
