Doctors/Nurses 19% of COVID-19 Deaths in Venezuela

By Carlos Camacho

CARACAS — The rate of contagion in Venezuela for Coronavirus is accelerating so rapidly that the total number of cases has almost tripled over the last three weeks. And the number of deaths from COVID-19 continues rapidly escalating, particularly among medical professionals where 19% of Venezuela official 151 deaths attributed to COVID-19 are doctors and nurses.

Six doctors have died from COVID-19 over the last 72 hours, more than in any other specific group, Dr. (and National Assembly Deputy) Jose Olivares warned Wednesday morning.

Also on Wednesday morning, the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern about the situation regarding front-line responders. It was the IACHR that provided the 19% estimate, based it said on figures provided by the Maduro regime.

“In the last 72 hours six more people from the health sector have died from COVID-19, which shows the magnitude of the crisis we are going through,” Olivares said during a Zoom conference.

Coronavirus prevention is about the only issue in which the Guaido administration and the Maduro regime have collaborated, in a fragile deal expressly brokered by the Pan American Health Organization that brought about the only known instance where the two sides have collaborated. Even after the deal between the two sides was announced June 1st, the situation continued deteriorating.

When the first two cases were announced in mid-March, Venezuelan doctors denounced that they were ill-equipped, with hospitals not even having running water, let alone gloves, facemasks or alcohol.

Maduro insisted that the regime’s response was adequate, even at one point dropping the name of a Caracas hospital that has been closed for two years as a specially designated “Sentry” center, open 24 hours to diagnose and treat new Coronavirus cases.

Olivares, thanked the IACHR for its concern about the serious danger that health workers in Venezuela are running, since they do not have the equipment and/or prevention supplies to deal with COVID-19.

“We thank the IACHR for its concern about health personnel in Venezuela,” Olivares added.

The Maduro regime is trying to silence the situation, even as the Guaido interim government and the IACHR have denounced it, Olivares said. “The dictatorship has not even recognized most of these deaths of health personnel,” he stated. “On our side, we will continue to raise complaints in all the necessary instances to achieve the protection of all those who are working to save the lives of Venezuelans.”

On Tuesday, Venezuela added 583 new cases to an official tally of 16,571 cases of Covid-19.