Flu cases fill health facilities and patients wait on the floor; Vaccination resumes in the afternoon | Rio de Janeiro

On Tuesday (30), the state government said that There was an increase in demand of 400%. For influenza care in emergency care units (UPA) operated by the state government.

“I was in so much pain, I’m pregnant. I had a fever of 43. It was a mess inside. I got in a wheelchair and it was really bad. I went in on my own, and they didn’t let my husband in with me. It’s hard,” said host Vivian da Silva.

At Barra da Tijuca CER, in the western area of ​​the city, patients came to wait while lying on the floor. During the night, there was no childcare.

“I was lying on the floor because they didn’t think to bring a stretcher. After waiting for five hours, I got help,” Gabriel dos Santos said.

Patients said they encountered overcrowding in health facilities.

“UPA is so full, things are serious. I feel a little shivering and my body is a little hot,” said Emerson dos Santos, a UPA patient in Tijuca.

In an interview with Bom dia Rio on Tuesday, Health Minister Alexander Ship said that, in many cases, UPAs are operating on a large scale and capacity is causing an increase in the search for care.

According to the Municipal Health Department, full health facilities do not represent an increase in Covid cases. The volume claims that 9,000 tests are performed per week. In the past three days alone, 12,000 coronavirus tests have been conducted. And the result of 99% of them was negative, which indicates the spread of influenza in the city of Rio.

The Secretary of State for Health notes that most cases are mild.

“Most of the cases we see are mild, with no major complications, but they do cause a more than 400% increase in the number of people with influenza-like illness being treated in state Department of Health emergency care units. It is a respiratory virus,” he said. Secretary Alexander Shebe.

Vaccination must be resumed

flu vaccine It ended up in most posts last Tuesday. During the night and dawn, about 200 thousand doses were sent to the state. Of these, 160,000 were allocated to the capital.

The Rio Municipal Health Service expects these doses to be distributed throughout the morning and to resume vaccination at 2 p.m.

According to infection scientist Tânia Vergara, the recommendation is that residents continue to maintain healthcare and use a mask.

“If you have flu-like symptoms, don’t go to places where you will be in contact with other people and, in particular, wear a mask if you need to,” said Tania Vergara, president of the Infectology Society of Rio. de Janeiro.