Anna-Lisa Paul
As the Delta variant continues to assert itself as the dominant viral strain across the globe, approximately 1.4 million new COVID-19 cases and 3,000 deaths have been reported within the last week in the Western Hemisphere.
And with the rate of infections accelerating across North America, routine sequencing surveillance has confirmed that the Delta variant is the dominant strain sweeping across much of the US and Canada in the past month.
Confirming this as she delivered the stark update during the Pan American Health Organisation’s (PAHO) weekly media briefing to regional and international partners yesterday, PAHO Director Dr Carissa Etienne said, “The US has seen cases increases by more than a third and Canada, by more than a half.”
In Mexico, more than two-thirds of all states have been deemed high or at critical risk as hospitals continue to fill up with COVID patients.
Reporting new cases and deaths were also on the rise in Central America and particularly in Costa Rica and Belize, Etienne claimed, “Most countries in South America are seeing a drop in new cases.”
Hospital occupancy rates in Brazil are now lower than 80 per cent across all states for the first time since November 2020 – although transmission rates remain very active.
Etienne urged, “Now is not the time for complacency.”
Painting a dim picture for the Caribbean as she stated that, “COVID infections and deaths are rapidly rising across the Caribbean. Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba continue an increasing trend in both cases and deaths, while in T&T, weekly deaths continue to rise.”
In Jamaica, cases rose by 49 per cent while their death rate increased by 70 per cent.
“We are seeing very steep rises in Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe,” Etienne said.
Referring to this week’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake which brought acute devastation across much of Haiti, the PAHO head revealed they, along with international members had activated teams in Haiti to support all aspects of the health response.
Extending condolences to the family of PAHO epidemiologist Dr Ousmane Touré who died in the earthquake, Etienne said his passing was, “emblematic of the dangers that health workers face and the extraordinary sacrifices they have made during this pandemic.”
Commenting on the unfortunate occurrence of weather phenomenon which had only added to the challenges Haiti’s frontline health workers were facing, Etienne said it complicated ongoing search and rescue efforts as well as the delivery of supplies.
She said, “The situation in Haiti and indeed across the region, underscores just how critical it is to bring this pandemic under control in the Americas, in the shortest time possible.”
However, vaccine hesitancy is still very much at the fore as across Latin America and the Caribbea – just one in five people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and in some countries, it is fewer than five per cent of people that have been fully vaccinated.
Etienne said, “While PAHO is working actively to change this disparity, it will take months until our region has access to the vaccines it so desperately needs.”
Turning her attention to one of the consequences arising out of this crisis as she referred to the mental health and well-being of all, the PAHO Director said, “Throughout the pandemic, stress and fear have invaded our everyday lives and an unprecedented number of people have lost their jobs and are struggling to support their families.”
Revealing that more than 16 months since the virus arrived in this region, that PAHO has now started to generate data depicting the true breadth of COVID’s impact on mental health in the Americas – Etienne said, “Let me tell you that the results are grim. Demand for mental health and psychosocial support has never been higher, yet these services have never been more out of reach.”
With three-fourths of participating countries reporting partial or complete disruptions in mental health services during the pandemic, she added, “More than half of school-based mental health programs and more than three-fourths of out-of-school programs have been partially or entirely disrupted at a time when more than 15 per cent of young people are experiencing depression.”
“Nearly 90 per cent of participating countries report that mental health counselling and psychotherapy services have been disrupted, yet today, up to 60 per cent of people in our region are suffering from anxiety or depression.”
She said this meant persons who may be experiencing mental health challenges for the first time including frontline health workers, had been operating in crisis mode for more than a year as they lack the support to adequately manage their conditions.
Additionally, she said, “People already living with mental health disorders have struggled to access medications or essential therapies, which can worsen their conditions and leave them vulnerable to crisis.”
Declaring that if this mental health crisis is left unaddressed, it would have severe consequences – Etienne said, “It will not only worsen the mental health burden in our region but also prolong the pandemic’s impact.”
Urging countries that have deemed mental health a priority to fulfil these promises with funding, she pointed to Chile where a mental health campaign had been launched with support from its president to strengthen psychosocial services during the pandemic, including expanding the mental health workforce, offering mental health support to health workers, and building up community-level care to reach more people closer to home.
PAHO found in a recent survey of health workers in 30 countries, 35 per cent of these health workers said they needed psychological help, but only one third of them had received it.
Featuring favourably in this area, Etienne said T&T had reorganized its’ mental health services to bring them directly into communities by setting up help-lines, telehealth services and online directories of mental health professionals to ensure persons have access the mental health support they need
