Citizen’s Observatory: 2087 Deaths from COVID-19 in Nicaragua

Independent monitoring of the pandemic reports an 8% increase in suspected cases of COVID-19, with 540 new cases in a 7-day period in the country of 6.5 million people

Por Vladimir Vasquez (Confidencial)

HAVANNA TIMES – The independent monitoring group Citizen’s Covid-19 Observatory reported an 8% increase in suspected cases of the novel Coronavirus during the period from June 25 – July 1. This raises the total number of cases to 7,402 with 2,087 deaths from COVID-19 in Nicaragua. The number of deaths includes 133 whose cause of death is registered as “pneumonia”, but who died within the context of the pandemic.

According to the most current data from the Observatory, the presence of COVID-19 has been confirmed in at least 134 of the country’s 153 municipalities. The Observatory data continues to reflect a reality that the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (Minsa) has attempted to keep under wraps during their weekly press conferences, where the data offered isn’t compiled with transparency.

On June 30, Minsa reported 2,519 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nicaragua and 83 deaths. They avoid talking about the fact that the pandemic has been in the phase of community spread since at least the end of May, when the Pan-American Health Organization, as well as national epidemiologists, warned of this development.

According to the weekly report presented by Citizen’s Observatory, in just the week of June 25 – July 1, there were 540 new suspected cases of COVID-19, representing an increase of 8% in comparison to the data from the week before.

The most affected departments are: Managua with 3,151 cases; Matagalpa with 774; Masaya with 579; Leon with 497; and Esteli with 340 suspected cases of COVID-19.

Irregularities reported

The Observatory’s weekly report also noted a number of irregularities, in the form of actions that went against the international norms for treating the pandemic. The majority were committed by the government through public activities, harassment or other pressures.

The firings and threats have principally been directed against health workers. However, there are also reports that the governing FSLN Citizens’ Power Councils in the neighborhoods of the capital and other departments are “following up on” and keeping watch on people they consider suspicious, and are threatening their family members to keep them from publicly discussing their state of health.

Health workers affected by virus

At least 691 health workers in the country have had symptoms typical of COVID-19 in the country, according to the Citizen’s Observatory report. There are probable cases of the disease among health workers in all of Nicaragua’s departments and municipalities, with Managua being the most affected with 283 cases, followed by Leon with 75 and Matagalpa with 65 cases.

Deaths among those who work in the health field rose from 78 to 87 during the period ending on July 1st, according to the report: 38 of the deceased were doctors and 22 were nurses. Eleven others worked in health administration, five in laboratories, three were home visitors, one a dentist and seven others were part of the technical staff of the hospitals or health centers.