Governor Silvestri 2020-09-15

Summary of Facebook Live Chat by Governor Silvestri at 2020-09-15 07:30

Starts at 02:30

The Spanish transmission can be found here

Transmissions are Monday and Friday.

COVID-19 Testing and Treatment

Cases:

• Health Department release 74 from Sunday
  • 896 confirmed cases total
    • 146 recovered
    • 12 deaths confirmed (up to 20 suspect)
    • 738 active cases
  • 218 outstanding tests, 132 processed and 86 pending
    • The Bay Islands is currently spiking, while the rest of the country is recovering

Hospitalisation:

• Total of 60 hospitalised patients in Roatan
  • 23 in the hospital
  • 37 in the COVID center
• No information for Guanaja or Utila

Weekend Case Spike:

• Difficult as 200+ new case record, lots of alarm
• First call of the morning suggested a 2 week lockdown
  • Got all the experts along with the chambers of tourism and commerce together to work out if this was necessary
  • Worked out that a shutdown was not constructive, given the broad existing infection rates.
  • The test results are from the last two weeks of August and the first two weeks of September (so many old tests)
  • Medical brigades are being sent from the central government. Some today and tomorrow.
• If you see someone without a mask, please encourage them to put one on
• Police will be handing out fines for people not wearing masks

Strategy for Management:

• Herd immunity is not a strategy being implemented in Honduras
  • Lockdown was the strategy, this is what lead to the first case being in May instead of March
  • Currently, locking down further will exacerbate economic issues which is expected to cost more lives than cautious reopening and medical brigades
• No way of stopping the virus, especially now that it’s at community level
  • House to house medical brigades aim to control the infection rate and help those who are infected but have not managed to get to a clinic
• Despite trying to keep it out, it is estimated that around 40% of the people on the Bay Islands have been exposed
• Current strategy is to identify those at the highest risk and save them
• Problems Honduras has to deal with that places like South Korea don’t:
  • People who don’t care if they get sick. They don’t necessarily realise that they’re spreading it to others.
  • People who think the virus is a lie.

COVID-19 center

• For people with symptoms, not to get testing
• Bay Islands have already gone through 7,000 tests and there aren’t many left
• People who are showing symptoms will get tested

Antigen testing

• Private clinics have these available

Travel and Immigration

Testing Requirements:

• Not sure how long the 72 hour requirement will be in place

General

Independence day:

• Today is 199 years of independence for Honduras.
• Appreciation for all the healthcare workers who are really showing what it means to be patriotic.
• Please give back to the healthcare workers by wearing a mask and following other biosecurity measures.

Circulation:

• Only people with salvo conductos and tourists with confirmed reservations
• Tomorrows digit is 5 (which was today’s, but was pushed to tomorrow due to the holiday)
• Only banks will ask you for your number, otherwise when its your day you can circulate freely

Dengue:

• Increase of dengue leading to combination of dengue with COVID-19, which is especially dangerous
  • Can’t take blood thinners on dengue, which is necessary for COVID-19
• Spraying is being done to reduce the mosquito population

Criteria for ending number system

• Hospital capacity is the key indicator for ending the number system. Green, is 30%. Yellow is up to 100%. Red is above 100%
• When most of the hospitals are green, they will eliminate the number system

Education posters:

• These are being planned