Council to maintain mandatory mask wearing in health centers for “another week” to confirm respiratory virus reductions

The military government of Andalusia will maintain the mandatory use of masks in health centers “for another week”, although it is the third community in Spain with a low incidence of respiratory viruses such as influenza and coronavirus, in order to “confirm this “low” trend and Avoid confusing the crowd.

“We have a case rate of 379 cases per 100,000 residents, and we have been reducing the case rate for two weeks. But we will continue to enforce mask wearing for another week,” Garcia said.

This was stated by Health and Consumer Affairs Minister Catarina García on Friday when asked by reporters in Linares (Jaén) about the current status of these diseases and the possible lifting of the mandatory wearing of masks.

“We have a case rate of 379 cases per 100,000 residents, and we have been reducing the case rate for two weeks. But we will continue to enforce mask wearing for another week,” Garcia said.

In this sense, he referred to the “sensitivity” and the request for reports to support the decision, as requested by the Andalusian government when “the ministry imposes obligations, bypassing collegial bodies, raising alarms and committees”. Public Health, later it also skipped the inter-regional committee.

“That’s how it’s done. Now what do we want to do? Why did we decide to go for another week with mandatory masks? If we have a surge next week, we’re not going to like it. “When that happens, then I don’t know what’s going to happen What does it feel like. “We need to explain to people that we took off our masks last week,” he said.

In this regard, the head of health and consumer affairs emphasized that “the goal is not to confuse people, but to do things in a sensible way so that they understand.”

Although Andalusia experienced a “two-week decline in incidence” and was the third community with the lowest incidence after the Balearic Islands and Galicia, it chose to “wait another week to confirm this downward trend”.

So although Andalusia experienced a “two-week decline in incidence” and was the third community to have a lower incidence after the Balearic Islands and Galicia, it chose “to wait another week to confirm this decline” trend”.

“To confirm that we are indeed past the peak and that we cannot increase the incidence again. Therefore, I believe that population-specific decisions are more accurate,” the consultant concluded.

Andalusia maintains its hospitals in phase 0 of high frequency plan

Andalucia’s hospitals are on average in Phase 0 of the high-frequency plan, which means that globally the percentage of emergencies visiting the hospital for three consecutive days has increased by less than 10%.

Health authorities are at the Virgen de las Nieves this Friday. Board Press.

Specifically, 83% of hospital centers are at level 0 of the plan, that is, 42 out of 51 hospitals have experienced an increase of less than 10% in the number of emergency rooms for three consecutive days; according to the General Manager of the University Hospital of Santa Fe de Las Nieves in Granada As of today’s report, 3.9% (2 hospitals) are in Phase 1, 11.7% (6 centers) are in Phase 2, and 1.9% (1 hospital) are in Phase 3. SAS, Valle García, after meeting with members of the High Frequency Meeting of the Reference Hospital Center in Granada. The meeting was also attended by Territorial Health and Consumer Affairs Representative Indalecio Sánchez-Montesinos and SAS Deputy Director of Hospital Administration María José Ferrer.

The general manager wishes to reiterate Anning’s message to the public “as health centers and their professional staff are ready to meet any increase in demand, whether or not due to high attendance rates related to respiratory viruses.”

Valle García detailed how the program works and what aspects are monitored daily by all Andalusian public health care centers, emphasizing that these are fluctuating data that can change in hours or even minutes.

The General Manager wishes to reiterate Tranquility’s message to the population “as the health center and its professional staff are ready to meet any increase in demand, whether or not due to high attendance rates related to the respiratory virus.” Similarly, he insisted that “all patients are Treatment is obtained in the shortest possible time, healthcare is safeguarded and the system is prepared to cope with increased demand.”

The incidence rate of acute respiratory infections dropped from 380 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and remains below the national average, which also dropped from 745 cases per 100,000 inhabitants the previous week to 607. In severe acute respiratory infections (SARIs), the downward trend has also been consolidated. Therefore, the SARI rate in Andalusia in week 4 of 2024 was 12.1 cases/100,000 hours (in week 2 of 2024 it was 16 cases/100,000 hours). Another similar decline was just over 20%.

Emergency and admission data

In the first three days of this week, a total of 35,023 hospital emergencies were reported in Andalusia, a slight increase of 1.29% (449 cases) compared with the same period last week.

Coordination meeting held at Virgen de las Nieves Hospital. Board Press.

About 700 more emergencies are being handled these days than the daily average for the entire year, a number that is common during heavy traffic times. Seville and Malaga are the provinces with the highest concentration of emergencies, with 7,920 and 6,440 cases respectively.

There are 30 regions in Phase 0, which means an increase in basic activity of less than 15%, with the exception of Córdoba Norte, Northeast Granada, Northeast Jaén and Poniente Almería, which are in Phase 0 Stage 1, that is, the growth rate of basic activities is less than 15%. 15% to 25% increase compared to base activity

In terms of the number of hospitalizations, the number of hospitalizations in Andalucia during the past three days dropped from 2,715 last week to 2,594, a decrease of 4.45% (a decrease of 121 people). In terms of emergencies, Seville and Malaga top the list with 611 and 509 hospital admissions respectively. While this figure continues to be higher than the average daily revenue observed throughout the year, there is also a clear downward trend in this metric.

In terms of urgent care delivered in primary care centres, a total of 144,967 emergency care cases were attended to last week (January 23 to 30), a similar figure to the previous week. There are 30 regions in Phase 0, which means an increase in basic activity of less than 15%, with the exception of Córdoba Norte, Northeast Granada, Northeast Jaén and Poniente Almería, which are in Phase 0 Stage 1, that is, the growth rate of basic activities is less than 15%. Increase by 15% to 25% compared to base activity.

Last winter, Andalusian hospitals treated more than 1.1 million emergencies between December and February, of which only 7.6% required hospitalization.

During the high attendance period of the season (from October 15 to the present), 1,094,000 people have been treated by Andalusia Hospital Emergency Services, 7.6% of whom required hospitalization. As a result, the number of hospital visits is very similar to last year, and the proportion of emergency admissions to total emergency department admissions is also similar to this time in previous years.

Influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations without an appointment

SAS managing director calls for vaccinations to continue. Influenza, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccinations will continue to be offered to any high-risk group who come to the primary care vaccination site until the end of the campaign.

These groups include people with influenza and COVID-19, people over 60 years old, people with chronic diseases, health and social hygiene workers, pregnant women, security forces and legions, cohabitants of high-risk groups, and smokers. Additionally, it is important to remember that children aged 6 to 59 months receive the childhood flu vaccine.

The influenza vaccination rate for people over 65 years old is 65.4%, and the COVID-19 vaccination rate is 47.8%. Influenza vaccination coverage among children aged 6 to 59 months was 45.3%, with a total of 130,358 boys and girls vaccinated

The influenza vaccination rate for people over 65 years old is 65.4%, and the COVID-19 vaccination rate is 47.8%. Influenza vaccination coverage for children aged 6 to 59 months was 45.3%, with a total of 130,358 boys and girls vaccinated.

Since September 25, 2023, 47,491 infants have been vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the leading cause of bronchiolitis. More than 93% of minors designated for vaccination have received the vaccine. As a result of this action against RSV, hospitalizations in Andalusia decreased by 78%.

A total of 1,794,210 people have received the flu vaccine and 1,132,105 people have received the COVID-19 vaccine. The highest vaccination coverage is among the elderly population in residential centers, with about 46,000 people, of which 91% are vaccinated against influenza and 85% are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Coordination with residential centers

Precisely in order to improve the care of older people in residential centres, SAS this year launched a coordination agreement between primary care teams, nursing homes, hospitals and the 061 Health Emergency Center with the aim of early detection of infectious diseases. Furthermore, the purpose of this coordination is to ensure continuity of care for those who must be hospitalized.

The coordination agreement was piloted in Córdoba and has now been extended throughout Andalusia. Regardless of high-frequency periods, SAS will continue to facilitate coordination of care for seniors in residential centers.

The Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs has also launched an information campaign through Salud Responde to provide people with advice on how to deal with influenza, influenza A or Covid-19.

Andalusian citizens will therefore be able to learn how to act in the event of a respiratory infection, receiving advice on dealing with the most common symptoms through the telephone number 955 545 060 and the Salud Responde app. Health professionals who are experts in the field have devised a range of general advice for people with a fever over 38 degrees, a cough or a lot of mucus, a headache or a general feeling of discomfort.

It can be accessed through Salud Responde’s IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system. Option 1 is for people over 70 who will be referred to an agent. In Option 2, vaccination is first recommended as the most effective way to avoid getting or spreading the flu or Covid-19, and you can make an appointment with your primary care doctor or nurse (Option 3). Or get general advice for the most common symptoms.

Since the new messaging service was launched, more than 12,100 calls have been registered, with 1,350 needing help after hearing the announcement.