Clinics and hospitals, the health system in general, today are waging an anguished race against time since the economic resources since the closure of the economy have been very few, because with these measures the gambling sector has It reduced its contribution to the health of Colombians by 100% for almost 5 months. It has already been seen that these institutions collapse when the coronavirus curve rises: beds are not enough, staff cannot supply and essential elements begin to run short.
In Colombia, the quarantine has managed to flatten the contagion curve to some extent and has given them valuable days to be ready. But this very positive news has become at the same time their executioner and has already dealt them a serious setback, because there is a serious problem if one takes into account that they will have to face in a short time the rebound in cases of the pandemic with all its intensity According to the IDEAM (Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies) and the Ministry of Health, in October it is estimated that there will be a rebound and rebound in COVID-19 cases.
In the country, the outbreaks have had a localized behavior, with different speeds, as has been seen in the different moments in which it struck Leticia, Barranquilla, Medellín, Cali or Bogotá. Therefore, the possibility of new waves is better appreciated locally.
With data updated as of September 30, the official Saludata platform of the city of Bogotá projects that contagion will reach a peak towards the end of October or the beginning of November in the Capital.
This is what has happened to the health system due to the closure of the casinos for more than 5 months
The figures are dramatic in Bogotá, highly complex hospitals that had 25,000 million pesos in monthly income fell to 12,000 million. Occupancy in hospitalizations is on average in half. And outpatient visits, scheduled surgeries, and exams are almost entirely canceled. Even the collapsed emergencies operate today at less than 70 percent. The director of the Shaio Clinic in Bogotá, Gilberto Mejía, says that, for example, the face masks that previously cost 80 pesos rose to 1,000 and even 1,800. The manager explains that an average of 25 people a day enter each room of an isolated patient (cleaning, food, therapies, sampling, nurses and doctors) and that each basic protection kit today is around 25,000 pesos.
However, in the scenario in which no restrictions are applied, a regrowth would be so high that Bogotá would only need almost 10,000 ICU beds at the beginning of November, when the city has 2,200 and all of Colombia has about 10,000. In this extreme case, all the Bogotá ICUs would be taken over as early as October 14.
For this reason, these institutions launched a cry for help. "We ask for an extraordinary effort in this extraordinary time," says Juan Carlos Giraldo, director of the Colombian Association of Hospitals and Clinics. They propose to the Government that they pay them for availability, that is, that they turn over a value for each bed that they have today empty while waiting for patients with viruses, because the resources they previously received today are insufficient.
According to the accounts of the Attorney General's Office, the debt of the health system exceeds 5.4 trillion pesos and 60% has a default of more than 90 days, entities such as ADRES, are one of those in charge of collecting the taxes paid by the casinos. Now, the gambling sector has always been the backbone of the health of Colombians, but until just now it has begun to become visible, it remained hidden and was only looked at to pay the taxes that filled the government coffers .
In the midst of this pandemic, the government has begun to see with much more urgency the importance of keeping this sector afloat, and of its stable reopening over time. Even the Minister José Manuel Restrepo, surprisingly visited one of the casinos located there in Bogotá to learn about the implementation of sanitary measures.
And he rated the organization of industry protocols as excellent.
For his part, Bogotá councilor Juan Javier Baena also visited an establishment to learn about the operation of the industry, his comments were very positive and he even congratulated the sector for compliance with the biosecurity protocol, his final invitation was to maintain the socially responsible commitment to the application of specific health measures for casinos and bingo halls.
Well, guaranteeing safe spaces will ensure that the operation is soon normalized, and that customers return to the gambling rooms feeling comfortable and protected. This year, the contributions delivered contracted in the first semester to $ 187.1 billion, while, in 2019, the sector generated 111.0
