MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay braces for slight increase in coronavirus cases

No cases of hepatitis of unknown origin reported in the country, Sequera explained

Paraguayan Health authorities Friday announced they were expecting a slight rebound in the number of COVID-19 cases, based on local data and on that from neighboring countries.

However, no new deaths were reported for a whole week Friday during Director of Health Surveillance Guillermo Sequera's press conference, in which he did mention 9 fatalities from before. The official also mentioned only 211 new cases, with 24 people hospitalized, one-third of whom were in Intensive Care Units (ICUs).

Despite the current figures, Sequera stressed a rebound was expected in the coming weeks. “Cases are increasing in Argentina and Brazil, which could be seen in a few weeks in our country. This we could have in the following week, although we already see a slight increase,” Sequera.

The official assured that the level of contagion in the whole country is currently level 1, which indicates a very low risk. He also pointed out there was an increase in the number of cases of dengue, sika, and chikungunya. Regarding dengue, about 3,000 notifications were reported, most of them in the Asunción area, while chikungunya has been detected in Mariano Roque Alonso, Asunción, Guairá, and Presidente Hayes.

Sequera explained that the new arbovirus tests carried out in the country can detect dengue, zika, and chikungunya, so it is normal for notifications to increase.

Regarding severe hepatitis of unknown origin, the Health official underlined there had been no cases in the country yet.