The Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) reported this Tuesday that given the recent increase in cases of Covid in the country activated the assistance line “asissstecovid“, with which it seeks to avoid the saturation of services and break the chain of infections in the country.
In a statement, the Institute explained that, through the hotline, rights holders with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 they should call the number 55 4000 1000 and dial option 0 to access a menu to schedule appointments, request medical leave, receive assessments, identify serious cases or be transferred to health units.
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The ISSSTE pointed out that it will also implement a unit called “respiratory clinic” in some clinics, whose sole objective will be to issue medical licenses Covid-19 to workers in the service of the State who have a positive test issued by public or private laboratories.
The line “asissstecovid” began operations in 99 medical units in Mexico City, State of Mexico, Campeche, Chihuahua, Colima, Durango, Jalisco, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Puebla, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Yucatán; They will be progressively expanded to 280 medical units in a first stage, until reaching the 512 that make up the first level of care.
The Institute announced that this week the second stage of the strategy to deal with the pandemic will also be activated, which consists of the digital procedure “Waive Covid-19“, which will automatically issue a work permit to be absent due to virus infection for seven days.
“In this way, the ISSSTE responds to the saturation of patients in clinics, medical units and hospitals due to symptoms related to Covid-19 and the high demand for requesting medical licenses”, explained the general director, Pedro Zenteno.
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In the first days of the year, the ISSSTE warned to the directors of their clinics and hospitals, as well as to the state and regional medical sub-delegates, who before the increase in Covid cases recorded in recent days, the country “finds itself before the fourth wave” of infections, and asked his staff to prepare for a “exponential increase in hospitalizations“.
This is established by a internal memo of ISSSTE signed by Ramiro López Elizalde, regulatory director of Health, circulated on January 2, in which he asked the directors set up the medical units at your expense for your conversion and increase the number of beds, all in the face of advance from fourth wave of infections driven by the Omicron variants Y Delta.
“Although the Omicron variant generates serious cases in fewer numbers than the Delta variant, both strains continue to circulate in our country, the expected number of cases is too high and due to this increase in cases and the volume of the population in our country, it is expected that the number of hospitalizations be seen exponentially increased”, explained the office.
The ISSSTE also asked the directors to avoid the issuance of medical licenses “unnecessary” – which will be requested, according to the document, due to “mass contagion” – in order to have personnel to attend to the exponential increase in hospitalizations what is anticipated.