Update: Antioquia Governor Now Free from Covid-19 Infection, Released from Hospital
Antioquia Acting Governor Fernando Suarez announced August 4 via his Twitter account that he has now recovered from Covid-19 infection and released from hospital.
Last week, the governor had suffered a “decrease in respiratory capacity as a result of the contagion with Covid and was preventively admitted to general hospitalization,” according to a press bulletin from the Antioquia departmental government.
However, more than 14 days have passed since the initial infection, and having overcome all prior symptoms, doctors have now declared Suarez “Covid-free,” he said.
Earlier, Medellin Mayor Daniel Quintero had announced July 28 that following a July 24 initial test, a follow-up test confirmed that he also was infected by Covid-19 – just one week after Antioquia Governor Luis Fernando Suarez was hit by the virus. Then, on August 9, Mayor Quintero announced that another follow-up test confirmed that he no longer is infected and so he has returned to a normal work schedule.
Medellin Gets Extra Covid-19 Physician Support
On a related front, Mayor Quintero announced July 27 that Medellin just won extra physician support to confront a continuing surge of Covid-19 cases, following a special reunion with officials of Colombia’s principal medical trade associations.
The Colombian Society and the Antioquia Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, the Colombian Association of Critical Medicine and Intensive Care, the Colombian Society of Emergency and Emergency Specialists, and the Colombian Association of Internal Medicine all made “commitments that will allow providing complete health care to patients who require it in the following stages of the pandemic,” according to the Mayor.
Under the new arrangement, local hospitals just committed to adapting an additional 95 ICU beds, in addition to recent capacity expansions.
What’s more, each ICU physician that previously was responsible for overseeing 12 to 13 patients “will have a support team of anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists, chief nurses, general surgeons, among others, to achieve care of between 20 and 40 patients” per ICU specialist.
The new agreement heads-off a political gaffe by the Mayor when last week he proposed inviting hundreds of Cuban doctors to come to Medellin to help address the Covid-19 surge – a proposal publicly backed by left-wing demagogue Senator Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla trained by the Cuban Communist government.
Problem: Colombia hasn’t verified the qualifications of any Cuban “doctors” for expertise in treating Covid-19 patients, Health Minister Fernando Ruiz announced.
What’s more, previous investigations have revealed that the Cuban government takes 60% of the salaries paid to its “volunteer” doctors sent overseas — principally to prop up the near-bankrupt Communist dictatorship. In addition, at least one Cuban “doctor” posted overseas has been discovered spying on military installations.
Colombian medical associations had criticized the Mayor’s proposal because the Mayor hadn’t first consulted with Colombian medical associations on alternative ways to boost Covid-19 response capacity — using existing Colombian physicians and support personnel.
