RICO’s COVID DIGEST – It’s almost as if covid-19 took a break, resulting in the drop in the daily number of new cases and deaths. Hospitalizations have also dropped to levels not seen in many, many months.
With the respect to deaths associated with covid-19, they fell sharply this week, dropping to single digits (less than ten people per day).
According to the Ministry of Health, in the last 7 days there were 42 deaths:
- February 6: 8
- February 7: 7
- February 8: 5
- February 9: 6
- February 10: 3
- February 11: 9
- February 12: 4
The total accumulated figure reaches 2,714 deaths related to covid-19 since last March 6: 1,022 women and 1,692 men.
The fatalities were between the ages of two and 101, with the vast majority seniors (1,867). Four minors were also among the fatalities.
The total accumulated cases is now 199,1587 since the first case in March 2020.
On Friday, 350 patients remain hospitalized; 168 of them in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Since the second week of January, the country has registered a significant drop in the curve of confirmed cases, and above all, of hospitalized patients.
Such a trend has positively surprised many, especially those who had projected a collapse of health services by that time.
Demographer Luis Rosero Bixby projected for these days, reductions also in mortality due to the drop in the number of cases, especially the R rate, or the rate of contagion of covid-19.
At the end of January, Bixby estimated that in two weeks the deaths would drop to ten or less per day, which is what is actually happening today.
Contagion Rate
The Contagion or R rate, which measures the speed with which the virus spreads, was 0.83, on Wednesday, which means that every 100 people who carry the virus can infect 83.
This is the fourth consecutive week of a downward trend in this indicator.
Among the causes that would explain this situation is the natural behavior of the epidemic, which tends to fall after experiencing a peak.
The behavior of the population also influences what, contrary to what many might believe, has already adopted practices such as hand washing and the use of a mask.
The hypotheses also include the quality of the health service and environmental factors, such as the summer season, which could motivate people to stay outdoors in the open air, and more exposed to sunlight.
