The number of corona patients in Curaçao is increasing so quickly that healthcare can no longer keep up. The largest hospital on the island has been forced to suspend all non-emergency operations to free up manpower and space to treat Covid-19 cases.
“Almost all of our IC beds are occupied, and we expect an uptake peak in the coming days,” said spokeswoman Germaine Gibbs, concerned but militant against this site.
She calls the situation alarming. “What other countries experienced in their hospitals last year, we are now experiencing”, the WhatsApp connection says. “That is dramatic but also provides guidance because we know what to prepare for.
A week and a half ago, we had 20 corona patients in our hospital, today 102 of which 33 are in intensive care. “The latter is a problem, and it turns out. “We only have 9 IC beds left and expect a new increase in the number of infections and thus hospital admissions in the next three, four days.”
The increase is attributed to the relaxation of the curfew in recent weeks. It was moved from 9 pm to 10 pm and finally to midnight. That would also explain the “rejuvenation” of corona patients, Gibbs says. “Until a month ago, it was mainly people over 60, but since then, it has been people between 20 and 60, now many people in their 40s and 50s.”
To prepare for the new admission peak, the Curaçao Medical Center is organising the old hospital some 500 meters away to reception low and medium care patients. There is room for 33 beds, but the biggest concern is the number of respirators and hands on the bed.
