Local authorities urge strict compliance with sanitary measures. | Photo: EFE

Montevideo, February 6 (RHC)-- The Uruguayan Society of Intensive Care Medicine (SUMI) reports that intensive care units have collapsed due to COVID-19 infections in healthcare personnel and the exponential increase of positive cases throughout the nation.

According to the agency, most of those hospitalized are admitted as a result of conditions that are not related to COVID-19, but once admitted they contract the disease and must be transferred to specialized areas, which congests the health system.

"Support in low complexity tasks at the first level of care, especially in emergencies, is enabled for those who have completed the intermediate degree curriculum of Bachelor of Nursing, are studying professionalization of Nursing Assistants; as well as Medical Students who have passed the fourth year," said the Minister of Public Health, Daniel Salinas.

On the other hand, the National Emergency System registered 10,370 positive cases of COVID-19 in the last day, while the death toll amounts to 27 victims of the disease.  Likewise, 66,786 active cases have been registered to date, a figure that exceeds the 66,625 active outbreaks reported last Thursday.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Uruguay has accumulated 15,671 positive cases of COVID-19 in healthcare workers, of which 1,071 have the disease and 29 have died.