More than 3,000 people deceased with covid-19 symptoms in Nicaragua

A year after covid-19 was classified as a pandemic worldwide, the Nicaraguan Citizen Observatory increased the number of suspected deaths to 3,002 and the number of covid-19 infections to 13,237. According to its latest report, which was published this Saturday, in the week corresponding to March 4 to 10, there were 28 new cases and five deaths, one of which corresponds to the surgeon Donis Rafael Jiménez, who died on March 6 after being hospitalized at the Hospital Escuela Óscar Danilo Rosales Argüello (Heodra), in León.

According to the figures of this independent monitoring, from February 10 to March 10, 2021, the number of deaths due to the covid-19 pandemic amounts to 51. This data confirms a sustained increase in the lethality of the disease, a situation that was alerted at the end of December 2020. However, at the same time, the Ministry of Health (Minsa) acknowledged the death of only five people, totaling 174 deaths in almost a year.

The same is true for infections. According to Minsa — the only institution in the country authorized to report nationally and internationally on the number of positive cases — 238 new infections have been recorded in the last month, for a total of 6,537. However, the Citizen Observatory network was able to identify and verify 460 suspected cases.

"We reiterate that fluctuations in the number of reports received, whether suspected cases or suspected deaths of covid-19, reflect the ability of our networks to pick up what is happening in the territories. We cannot affirm that the virus has already been controlled in the country. The evidence of continuity in the increase of suspected cases and deaths says otherwise," the report states.

The Observatory data indicate that the department with the highest number of infections is Managua, followed by Matagalpa, Leon, Esteli and Masaya. In the case of the deaths, the capital city accounts for 33% of total deaths in a year. 

Deaths rise, while vaccination campaigns remain passive

According to the opinions of independent doctors, applying the first vaccinations to populations that are vulnerable to developing the disease in a serious way, would help to reduce deaths. However, in Nicaragua, the first doses are being administered without a campaign that promotes the active participation of Nicaraguans, and with scarce information on a National Vaccination Plan that is not publicly known.

"In the first phase, we are not trying to reduce contagion, that is why we are focusing on localized groups to reduce mortality," health specialist Carlos Hernández told Confidencial.

The lack of organization and implementation of a plan regarding the vaccination process was also included in the report of the Observatorio Ciudadano. They warn that at a health center in Nueva Segovia, few people attended to be vaccinated against COVID-19, "which could be a product of the lack of information from the Government about these vaccines".

Citizen Observatory demands equitable access to vaccines

Likewise, the Observatory members demand to accelerate the implementation of vaccination in the population, and to guarantee the immunization of the most vulnerable groups, starting with health workers and all the population groups that have been identified as priority groups.

"The Government of Nicaragua must adequately inform the population of the measures it is taking to ensure universal access to the vaccine against covid-19 for the population, in such a way that the vaccination coverage required to stop the transmission of the virus among the population is achieved in the shortest possible time, taking into account that vaccination is a human right and should be free of charge,” they say. 

As announced this week by the Vice President and state spokesperson, Rosario Murillo, health workers will be vaccinated in the next stage of vaccination, with the Covishiel vaccine batches that were donated by the Government of India and the donation expected from the Covax Mechanism of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Gavi Alliance.

They also denounce that the municipal authorities continue to promote the agglomerations. In the department of Matagalpa, one of the departments that has reported the most deaths and contagions in the last year, the inauguration of the Carlos Fonseca Amador soccer stadium took place and according to what was corroborated, the fans who attended a friendly match between Real Esteli and Matagalpa FC did not wear masks and did not keep their distance.

This article been translated by Ana María Sampson, a Communication Science student at the University of Amsterdam and member of our staff*