|
AMCostaRica© 
|
  |
 Patients with
covid-19 in Costa Rica have common illnesses as
hypertension (25%) and diabetes (19%). / A.M.
Costa Rica wire services photo
|
|
      |
 Published Thursday, July 23, 2020 common among patients hospitalized by covid19 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The risk of being hospitalized due to covid-19, increases health risks to people with pre-existing health conditions. According to a Social Security report, patients with covid-19 in Costa Rica have common illnesses as hypertension (25%), diabetes (19%), obesity (16%), smoking (15%), asthma (8 %), dyslipidemias (7%), smoking (6%), cancer (3%) and others diseases that affect the response of the immune system (1%). Age is another factor that increases the risk of complications of covid-19 disease. "As a person ages, the risk of becoming seriously ill from covid-19 is higher," Social Security said in its statement. According to specialists, age is a risk factor because the body's immune system against the new coronavirus is weaker than that of younger people. Thus people in their 50s are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill than people in their 40s. Similarly, people between the ages of 60 and 70 are at higher risk than people in their 50s. And the highest risk of getting seriously ill is for people 85 years of age and older. "In Costa Rica only two out of 10 people over the age of 65 are healthy," said Guiselle Guzmán Ph.D., an expert epidemiologist who is on the pandemic's central committee for care. "All the others have some type of condition that is likely to complicate covid-19." The most frequent symptoms among patients who have been hospitalized are shortness of breath, cough, fever, headache, body pain, loss of smell, weakness, fatigue and vomiting. According to Guzmán, the symptoms are associated with people who have been hospitalized, but people with the disease who have not been hospitalized may have other symptoms and present them at another level of frequency. The disease also includes a high group of people who are infected and have no symptoms. Trouble breathing, headaches and high fevers are indicators that the virus is making you critically ill and therefore a doctor should be consulted as soon as possible, Guzman said. Specialists recommend that protection against the risk of contagion is social distancing, constant hand washing, wearing of a face mask and face shield. "Because the more you talk to people, the closer you are and the longer the interaction lasts, the greater the risk of becoming infected and spreading the disease." Additionally, maintaining a healthy weight, doing physical activity, exercising, maintaining adequate control of chronic diseases and attending routine medical consultations, can favor a better organism response to infections caused by respiratory viruses such as the coronavirus. People with disabilities often need help or assistance to carry out daily activities. These people must continue to be cared for, the advice for a person in charge of people with disabilities is taking precautionary sanitary measures previously mentioned, as well as cleaning surfaces and washing hands before each interaction and especially using the face mask when caring for someone sick. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, controlling chronic diseases and increasing sanitary precautionary measures are vital to the fight against covid-19.  The virus in Costa Rica has continued to increase in the number of infections and deaths. As of Wednesday afternoon, the ministry provided the following statistics of the status of the virus in the country: • 550 new covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 8,968 active cases. The ages of patients infected range from a three-month-old baby to a 99-year-old person. • 3,549 foreign-born people have been infected of the 12,361 cases since March, approximately 28% of the total cases. • 285 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 235 patients are in recovery rooms and 50 are in Intensive Care Units, ICU, with delicate health conditions. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes. • 3,322 coronavirus patients have fully recovered, which is a 27% recovery rate. • 49,192 people have been ruled out. • 72,397 medical covid-19 tests have been made. • 71 deaths of patients infected with covid-19 since March. Which is almost a 0.6% death rate. Of these, one person whose nationality is not yet identified, 20 foreign-born people, and 50 Costa Ricans. Of the total of deaths, 27 were women and 44 men. Readers can reach the updated number of total patients in each district at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map. As of Wednesday night, the pandemic has killed 623,374 patients worldwide, according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. ----------------------------- Is covid-19 death rate worse in your country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
