In a letter dated April 3rd, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights, A.C. (Frayba) documented that representatives of Section 50 of the National Union of Workers of the Ministry of Health of the State of Chiapas, have clearly and forcefully warned Rutilio Escandn Cadenas, Governor of Chiapas, and Dr. Jose Manuel Cruz Castellanos, Secretary of Health for the state, that for weeks the situation in hospitals continues to be precarious, with no minimum conditions to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such serious health impacts for the population of Chiapas.
The workers of the health sector of the State of Chiapas protest about the lack of medicines for the population and personal protection equipment for their personnel in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. They fear that the hospital centers of the state of Chiapas will be a focus of infection affecting healthy patients, as well as the staff themselves.
Likewise, they denounce that the health personnel who receive patients with symptoms of said disease do not have or have insufficient minimum protection supplies recommended by the World Health Organization. The supplies that to date have not been received are: N95 or N100 masks; safety glasses, medical goggles or face shields; disposable waterproof insulation gowns; among other essential materials for the protection of the integrity of Health personnel.
At the same time, the different medical units have few or no simple mouthguards, gloves, surgical gowns, hair covers, shoe covers, micro porous tape, gel alcohol. Similarly, few or none of the following supplies have been provided for health and hygiene: chlorine, soap and disposable towels.
In the San Juan Chamula hospital, doctors improvise suits with plastic bags to supposedly “avoid contagions” of coronavirus.
On another note, a UNAM investigation indicates that in Chiapas alone, some 773,514 houses do not have piped water inside the house: “One of the main recommendations issued by the Ministry of Health, since the presence of the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in Mexico has been washing hands constantly, with soap and water; however, in different states of the Republic, millions of people will not be able to comply with said prevention measure.”
For more information in Spanish:
En Chiapas, carencia de agua pone a más de medio millón de viviendas en riesgo de COVID-19, Chiapasparalelo, 8 de abril 2020
Chiapas: usan bolsas de plástico para “evitar” contagios de Covid-19, Arestegui noticas 3 de abril 2020
Piden centros de derechos humanos se atienda el desabasto en hospitales, nvi noticias, 4 de abril ce 2020
Crisis en el sector salud aumenta el riesgo para la vida de población en Chiapas ante el Covid 19, Frayba 3 de abril 2020
Personal médico de Arriaga así enfrenta la epidemia del Covid-19, Chiapasparalelo 5 de abril de 2020
For more information from SIPAZ:
National: Lopez Obrador Makes Fifth Trimster Report; Assures “We Will Prevail” (April 10, 2020)
National: National Network of Farm Laborers (REJJA) Calls for More Information and Support about Risks of Coronavirus for Workers (March 26, 2020)
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