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Health authorities warned that 100 percent of the beds in public intensive care units are already occupied.
Paraguay's Health Ministry on Friday announced that it will enable beds for COVID-19 patients in Armed Forces facilities due to the health system collapse.
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The decision was made after public hospital beds reached 100 percent occupancy amid medicines and health workers shortages.
"COVID-19 patients will be assisted in those military institutions that were transformed into isolation centers at the beginning of the pandemic," Vice Minister Hernan Martinez said without informing how many beds or how many centers will be enabled.
So far, 1,645 COVID-19 patients have been admitted to public hospitals and 368 people are in intensive care units (ICU).
#Paraguay | As of last week, Paraguay has been under widespread social unrest due to the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, as demonstrators demand better conditions in hospitals, a vaccination campaign, and a stop to the governmental corruption. https://t.co/zWBkHAsLFY
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) March 10, 2021
"Paraguay is facing an extremely complex situation due to the exponential increase of cases," specialist Leticia Pintos warned, adding that infections rose by 70 percent in Asuncion this week.
In the last 24 hours, Paraguay reported 2,605 new infections, the highest number reported in one day since March 2020.
Two weeks ago, a wave of protests erupted in rejection of President Mario Abdo's mishandling of the pandemic.
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