The latest data from the SCS shows that hospitals in Tenerife are experiencing their worst moments and biggest struggle during the whole pandemic, with 50 Covid patients admitted to Intensive Care and 301 to Covid wards, especially La Candelaria which is at extreme risk, while Primary Care is following up on 7,710 people in home isolation. In total 18,000 new cases were registered in the islands in July, which is 23.7% of the total infections registered since March 2020.
Meanwhile, there is confusion this weekend over the regulations at level 4 in Tenerife, with people partying past the midnight closing time, bars with no social distancing, no masks, no staff wearing masks, and allowing dancing, as seen in Las Veronicas in Playa Las Americas, and San Telmo in Los Cristianos in the photo above from Friday night. In fact, since this article was published, the Local Police have invited Canarian Weekly to go with them next weekend to report on the situation!
The healthcare pressure in the Canary Islands due to Covid is continuing to increase, and more than the number of cases, is the factor that will send the islands backwards in the recovery of tourism, whether it be from the regional Governments reaction, or the UK’s reaction.
The occupancy rate of ICUs in the Canary Islands is 17.74% from Friday’s data, only surpassed by Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. While the occupation of hospital beds in wards reaches 6.24%, a figure higher than the Spanish average.
In Tenerife, the data is even more concerning, with 301 patients admitted to wards yesterday, and 50 in ICU with an occupancy exceeding 29%, the worst figure of the entire pandemic, and far exceeding 18% of the first wave, while occupancy of beds on wards stand at 9.62%.
The increase in infections in recent weeks has led Tenerife hospitals to activate their contingency plans. The Nuestra Señora de Candelaria University Hospital has had to close three operating rooms to install 11 ventilator beds in anticipation of more Covid patients, while the REA area is already an extended ICU with non-Covid patients.
The President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, highlighted yesterday that 24 of the 28 Covid patients who are admitted to the La Candelaria ICU, are not vaccinated which is 86% of patients. Out of the other four, two have had their first jab, and two have been fully vaccinated, hence he called for individual responsibility and vaccination to avoid a collapse in the health system.
CUETO: "IT’S SHOCKING THAT THEY ARE SO YOUNG"
The managing director of the Hospital Universitario de Canarias (HUC), Mercedes Cueto, has said that "the HUC is currently experiencing a progressive increase in admissions in both wards and in the ICU due to coronavirus." She stated that she is "shocked and concerned” by the average age of the patients in this fifth wave "since they are younger and many without any previous pathologies, fundamentally not vaccinated or only with a single dose."
In addition, Cueto stressed that this rebound without any respite "is very hard for all health professionals who have been working non-stop during this pandemic for a year and a half." She also acknowledged that the healthcare pressure that the HUC is experiencing "is very high and it is proving difficult to hire staff, since there are none experienced health workers in the job market."
Finally, the HUC manager reminded the population that "the tool we have at the moment to prevent this disease is vaccination. We must continue with prevention measures such as the use of a mask, hand washing and maintaining social distancing.”
