Health protocol violations are putting people at risk in Baja California Sur

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By Susy Buchanan

NEWS FROM BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR

Published on Friday, September 11, 2020

Staff members at the state workers (ISSSTE) hospital in La Paz, Baja California Sur (BCS), are denouncing health protocol violations that they say put patients at risk for exposure to the coronavirus. 

A complaint sent to the Metropolimex news agency said coronavirus patients are mixed with people who are at El Conchalito hospital for other ailments. 

The letter said ISSSTE hospitals across the state are poorly organized and are lacking federal support.

“More than 100 ISSSTE health workers have tested positive for the SARS-COV-2 virus due to mismanagement and the faulty hygiene control that is needed to prevent the spread of the disease in the hospital,” one of the doctors said. 

The hospital’s medical, administrative and cleaning staff requested the intervention of the state’s Ministry of Health and Senator Víctor Castro Cosio, who was recently discharged from the same hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.

• In Los Cabos, executive president of the hotel association, Lilzi Orcí, reported that not a single tourist has tested positive for the coronavirus, thanks in part to strict protocols for both guests and staff that hoteliers are following. Massive testing of hotel personnel has helped detect workers who are positive but asymptomatic so that they can safely self-isolate, she said. 

• Tourism among the extremely wealthy has diminished during the coronavirus pandemic, but not as much as one might think, BCS Noticias reports.

According to statistics from the Los Cabos Tourism Trust (Fiturca), 19,871 tourists traveled to Los Cabos in private planes between January and June, a 33% drop compared to the same period in 2019. However, things are picking up. In June, 2,336 passengers arrived in private planes, just 16.2% below 2019 levels. Between January and June, 23,745 commercial passengers arrived at the Los Cabos International airport. 

• As of Thursday, BCS had recorded 8,620 accumulated cases of the coronavirus and 400 deaths.

Beaches full, theaters empty

During the first week beaches in La Paz reopened, hundreds of citizens vied for their piece of sand, sometimes waiting hours to be admitted to popular sunbathing spots such as Balandra and Tecolote beaches. Rows of cars lined the entrances well before the beaches opened at 11 a.m. Some cars started queuing up at 6 a.m. to make the 30% capacity cutoff. 

It’s not the same for theaters, though. Theater companies would be glad if would-be beach-goers decided to trade their day at the beach for a day at the movies. 

Cinemas in the state are now allowed open at 40% capacity, but they are having trouble filling just 10% of their seats, BCS Noticias reports. 

A manager at Cinemex in San José del Cabos said attendance has been drastically low, at just 7% capacity during the week with 15% on weekends. 

Funeral business booming

Pre-pandemic, a funeral home in San José del Cabo said it would conduct around 15 services a month; now they are doing as many as 30 services every two weeks. 

In 2019, 136 people died in the municipality. As of September 8, 199 people have died in 2020, and at least 50% from the coronavirus.

RIP Doctor Andrés Rodríguez Pacheco

The renowned anesthesiologist at the IMSS clinic in La Paz, Andrés Rodríguez Pacheco, died as a result of the effects of Covid-19, we at The Mazatlan Post express our deepest condolences to his family, friends, medical staff, colleagues, administrative staff, and directors of the institution.

Source: MND

Baja California Post