MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Covid-19 controversy in Punta Arenas: Chief Medical Officer resigns following ministerial criticism

Dr. Mariela Rojas slammed minister Paris of “irresponsibly and publicly accusing her of ineptitude because of the alleged sanitary catastrophe in Magallanes”

The Chief Medical Officer from Magallanes Region, extreme south of Chile resigned following an outbreak of Covid-19 cases in Punta Arenas and serious statements from the Chilean minister of Health which were interpreted as criticisms towards the management of the pandemic

Dr. Mariela Rojas made public her resignation letter to minister Enrique Paris and stepped down from her appointment following on the increase of Covid-19 cases in the Magallanes Region, the highest rate in Chile in what is described as the “second Covid-19 wave” . Some 115 cases tested positive on Sunday.

In the letter to the minister, Dr. Rojas slammed Dr Paris “of irresponsibly and publicly accusing her of ineptitude because of the alleged sanitary catastrophe in Magallanes, when you should have first called me to talk about the matter, something which unfortunately you did not address”.

Since last Friday Punta Arenas is back under a complete quarantine because of the soaring number of cases which have tested positive for Covid-19. According to the latest data, in Punta Arenas some 4,436 PCR tests were done between July 11 and August 13, with 94 of them positive.