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Nearly half of the South American country’s population has received at least one vaccine dose, but on Friday, Chile recorded 7,626 new cases over a 24-hour period – the highest total at any point during the pandemic – and it is now approaching 1m cases in total.
More than 80% of the country’s 19 million inhabitants, including all residents of the capital, Santiago, have been put under a strict lockdown that prevents them leaving the house even to buy groceries or pharmacy supplies this weekend. During the week, each person is allowed two short-term permits to leave the house to buy essentials and can exercise outdoors between 7am and 8.30am. Only 169 intensive care beds remain available nationwide – an occupancy rate of more than 95%.
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Moreover, the progressive ageing of the population due to declining birth rates and an increasing life expectancy (OECD), together with the increasing complexity of medicine, have raised the demand for intensive care beds in the country.
This has led to a sustained growth in critical care beds, still insufficient for the increasing population and complexity.