Find out what topics will be in the news this week.
Unemployment figure to be released in January
This Monday, the Dane will reveal the unemployment data for January 2022. At the end of last year, the employed population reached 21.59 million, which represents 185,000 jobs more than in the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed was 2.67 million in December 2021 and the unemployment rate was 13.7 percent.
Mobility procedures change in Bogotá
There will be 19 points to carry out mobility procedures.
Photo:
Maurice Moreno. TIME
Starting this Tuesday, March 1, the way in which mobility procedures are carried out in Bogotá will change. The SIM will be replaced by the figure of Single Service Window.
In principle, the Single Window for Services will begin to operate at the 12 physical points where SIMs work today. Then, on March 16, the 19 venues will be held. At these points you can make transfers of property, registration, change of service, certificate of freedom and tradition, among other matters.
Gustavo Petro and César Gaviria will hold a meeting
Former President César Gaviria and candidate Gustavo Petro.
Gustavo Petro, a left-wing leader and who according to all the polls today leads the intention to vote for the Presidency, will meet this Monday with César Gaviria Trujillo, former president and head of the Liberal party.
Gaviria has indicated that they are going to discuss some issues and some problems will be touched upon. He also indicated that in his meeting with Petro he will express his disagreement on issues such as his proposal to the Bank of the Republic and the health reform.
Cities lift restriction on the use of face masks
Cities and municipalities that will stop using the mask in open spaces
Photo:
Jaiver Nieto Alvarez / ETCE
To date, only two out of five municipalities in the country will be able to eliminate, as of March 1, the use of masks in outdoor spaces. This is because only 451 of the 1,121 in the country reached the goal of vaccinating 70% or more of their population with a complete schedule, as determined by the National Government this week. In this way, capitals such as Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena and Barranquilla will be able to lift the restriction on the use of face masks starting this Tuesday.
Colombia hosts citizen security summit
From February 28 to March 3, 2022, Bogotá will host the XII Citizen Security and Justice Week, the largest regional event dedicated to security and justice issues in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The installation of the event will include the participation of President Iván Duque Márquez; the Minister of National Defense, Diego Molano Aponte; the Director General of the Colombian National Police, General Jorge Luis Vargas; the Vice President of Sectors and Knowledge of the IDB, Benigno López Benítez; and the Sector Leader Specialist for Citizen Security and Justice of the IDB, Nathalie Alvarado.
An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.1% in January compared with a year ago, the latest evidence that Americans are enduring sharp price increases that will likely worsen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The figure reported Friday by the Commerce Department was the largest year-over-year rise since 1982. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core inflation increased 5.2% in January from a year earlier.
Robust consumer spending has combined with widespread product and worker shortages to create the highest inflation in four decades — a heavy burden for U.S. households, especially lower-income families faced with elevated costs for food, fuel and rent.
At the same time, consumers as a whole largely shrugged off the higher prices last month and boosted their spending 2.1% from December to January, Friday’s report said, an encouraging sign for the economy and the job market. That was a sharp improvement from December, when spending fell. Americans across the income scale have been receiving pay raises and have amassed more savings than they had before the pandemic struck two years ago. That expanded pool of savings provides fuel for future spending.
Inflation, though, is expected to remain high and perhaps accelerate in the coming months, especially with Russia’s invasion likely disrupting oil and gas exports. The costs of other commodities that are produced in Ukraine, such as wheat and aluminum, have also increased.
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would do “everything I can” to keep gas prices in check. Biden did not spell out details, though he mentioned the possibility of releasing more oil from the nation’s strategic reserves. He also warned that oil and gas companies “should not exploit this moment” by raising prices at the pump.
A separate report Friday showed that orders for long-lasting factory goods rose sharply in January, led by a rise in demand for airplanes. The figures indicate that many companies are willing to invest more in industrial equipment and other goods, a sign of confidence in the economy.
“Overall, the real economy appears to be in stronger health than we feared,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, a forecasting firm.
Russia’s invasion and the likely resulting rise in inflation have increased pressure on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter-point as many as five or six times this year beginning in March. The Fed’s delicate task — to raise rates enough to restrain inflation, without going so far as to tip the economy into recession — has now become more difficult.
Fed officials are acknowledging that the invasion of Ukraine has complicated the economic outlook, but say that so far they are sticking with their plans for rate hikes.
Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said Thursday that she supported a series of rate hikes beginning in March. But she said the Fed should remain flexible: Faster rate hikes might be needed, she said, if inflation hasn’t begun to fade by mid-year, or more gradual increases if inflation is slowing.
“The implications of the unfolding situation in Ukraine for the medium-run economic outlook in the U.S. will also be a consideration,” she said. Other Fed officials have offered similar remarks this week.
Late Thursday, however, Fed governor Christopher Waller said he would support a half-point rate hike in March if inflation remains high.
Fed officials want inflation to fall back to its 2% target, as measured by the Commerce Department’s gauge, released Friday. A separate measure, the consumer price index, released two weeks ago, showed that inflation reached 7.5% in January from a year earlier, also a four-decade high.
In December, Fed officials projected that inflation would decline to just 2.7%, according to their preferred measure, by the end of this year, which most economists see as increasingly unlikely. The Fed will release updated projections at its March meeting.
January’s data show inflation was already picking up before the invasion. From December to January, prices rose 0.6%, up from 0.5% in the previous month.
There are early indications that consumer spending has stayed healthy, boosted by the rapid fading of the omicron wave of the coronavirus. JPMorgan Chase said that spending on its credit cards for airline tickets, hotel rooms, and restaurant meals rose in the first half of this month.
The JPMorgan Chase Institute also recently released data showing that cash balances remain elevated among their customers, including those with lower incomes. Bank account balances for Americans with less than $26,000 in income were 65% higher at the end of last year than they were two years before.
Americans’ paychecks are rising steadily. Average hourly earnings rose 5.7% in January compared with a year ago. Unless companies can offset their higher labor costs with greater efficiencies, most of them will likely charge their customers more. This would send inflation higher.
The combination of higher pay and enhanced savings suggests that Americans may be able to keep spending at a solid pace in the coming months, thereby sustaining the economy’s inflationary pressures.
WINDSOR, ONTARIO — The busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing reopened late Sunday after protests against COVID-19 restrictions closed it for almost a week, while Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.
Detroit International Bridge Co. said in a statement that “the Ambassador Bridge is now fully open allowing the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again.” Esther Jentzen, spokeswoman for the company, said in a later text to The Associated Press that the bridge reopened to traffic at 11 p.m. EST.
The crossing normally carries 25% of all trade between the two countries, and the blockade on the Canadian side had disrupted business in both countries, with automakers forced to shut down several assembly plants.
Police in Windsor, Ontario, said earlier in the day that more than two dozen people had been peacefully arrested, seven vehicles towed and five seized as officers cleared the last demonstrators from near the bridge, which links the city — and numerous Canadian automotive plants — with Detroit.
The protest in Ottawa, meanwhile, has paralyzed downtown, infuriated residents who are fed up with police inaction and turned up pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who presided at a Cabinet meeting late Sunday.
The demonstrations have reverberated across Canada and beyond, with similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that truck convoys may be in the works in the United States.
Don Stephens, 65, a retired graphic designer, holds a sign on Parliament Hill to support trucks lined up in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions in Ottawa, Ontario, on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
The Ambassador Bridge had remained closed for most of the day despite the break up of the protest as a heavy snowstorm blanketed the area. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens had said the span would open once authorities determined it was safe to do so.
Canada’s industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, welcomed the development, saying on Twitter: “Good news. Glad to see that the Ambassador Bridge is now reopened.”
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Sunday acknowledged the seemingly peaceful resolution to the demonstration, which it said had “widespread damaging impacts” on the “lives and livelihoods of people” on both sides of the border.
“We stand ready to support our Canadian partners wherever useful in order to ensure the restoration of the normal free flow of commerce can resume,” Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall said in a statement.
In Ottawa, which is about 500 miles northeast of Windsor, Mayor Jim Watson said Sunday the city struck a deal with protesters who have jammed downtown streets for more than two weeks that will see them move out of residential areas in the next 24 hours.
Watson said he agreed to meet with demonstrators if they confined their protest to an area around Parliament Hill and moved their trucks and other vehicles out of residential neighborhoods by noon Monday.
The mayor shared a letter from one of the protest’s organizers, Tamara Lich, in which she said demonstrators “agree with your request” to focus activities at Parliament Hill. But Lich later denied there was an agreement, saying in a tweet: “No deal has been made. End the mandates, end the passports. That is why we are here.”
Watson added in his letter to protesters that residents are “exhausted″ and “on edge” due to the demonstrations and warns that some businesses are teetering on the brink of permanent closure because of the disruptions.
The ranks of protesters had swelled to what police said were 4,000 demonstrators by Saturday, and a counter-protest of frustrated Ottawa residents attempting to block the convoy of trucks from entering the downtown emerged Sunday.
Clayton Goodwin, a 45-year-old military veteran who was among the counter-protesters, said it was time for residents to stand up against the protesters.
“I’m horrified that other veterans would be down there co-opting my flag, co-opting my service,” said Goodwin, who is the CEO of the Veterans Accountability Commission, a nonprofit advocacy group. “It’s a grift. The city was free. We’re 92% vaccinated. We’re ready to support our businesses.”
Colleen Sinclair, another counter-protester, said the demonstrators have had enough time to have their discontent heard and need to move on — with police force, if it comes down to it.
“They’re occupiers. People are scared to go to work, too scared to leave their homes,” she said. “This is not how you get your voice heard. This is domestic terrorism and we want you out of our city. Go home.”
The city has seen similar expansions of the protest on past weekends, and loud music played as people milled about downtown where anti-vaccine demonstrators have been encamped since late January, to the frustration of local residents.
“It just feels like I’m living in a different country, like I’m in the States,” said Shannon Thomas, a 32-year-old teacher. “It just makes me really sad to see all these people waving Canadian flags and acting like patriots when it’s really the most sad and embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen.”
Trudeau has so far rejected calls to use the military, but had said that “all options are on the table” to end the protests. Trudeau has called the protesters a “fringe” of Canadian society. Both federal and provincial politicians have said they can’t order police what to do.
Major-General Steve Boivin, commander of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, said Sunday that two of his special forces soldiers were supporting the protests in Ottawa and were in the “process of being released” from service. Boivin said the activity goes against the military’s values and ethics.
On Friday, a judge ordered an end to the blockade at the crossing in Windsor and Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency allowing for fines of 100,000 Canadian dollars and up to one year in jail for anyone illegally blocking roads, bridges, walkways and other critical infrastructure.
Partial closures at the bridge started on Feb. 7 and by midweek the disruption was so severe that automakers began shutting down or reducing production. The standoff came at a time when the industry is already struggling to maintain production in the face of pandemic-induced shortages of computer chips and other supply-chain disruptions.
“We are protesting the government taking away our rights,” said Windsor resident Eunice Lucas-Logan. “We want the restrictions removed. We have to wait to find out.”
The 67-year-old has been out supporting the protest for the past four days. She said she appreciated that police have been patient.
People demonstrating against COVID-19 restrictions stay warm with blankets and a fire during frigid temperatures on Wellington Street in the Parliament Hill area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
On the other side of the country, a major truck border crossing between Surrey, British Columbia, and Blaine, Washington, was closed Sunday, a day after Canadian authorities said a few vehicles had breached police barricades and a crowd entered the area by foot.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Sunday afternoon four people had been arrested for “mischief” during the protest. Some people who stayed overnight had packed up and left, but the border crossing and roads in the area remained closed.
A border blockade that began in Coutts, Alberta, north of Sweet Grass, Montana, on Jan. 29 remained in place as well. Police issued more than 50 traffic tickets Saturday and continued issuing them Sunday, RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said.
Officers also intercepted and disabled three excavators that were being brought to the protest, Savinkoff said.
“Had those made their way to the blockade, it would only have compounded the unfortunate situation we’re facing at the border,” he said.
While the protesters are decrying vaccine mandates for truckers and other COVID-19 restrictions, many of Canada’s public health measures, such as mask rules and vaccine passports for getting into restaurants and theaters, are already falling away as the omicron surge levels off.
About 90% of truckers in Canada are vaccinated, and trucker associations and many big-rig operators have denounced the protests. The U.S. has the same vaccination rule for truckers crossing the border, so it would make little difference if Trudeau lifted the restriction.
Pandemic restrictions have been far stricter there than in the U.S., but Canadians have largely supported them. The vast majority of Canadians are vaccinated, and the COVID-19 death rate is one-third that of the United States.
Meanwhile, Biden, in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on Sunday ahead of the Super Bowl, struck a critical tone when asked about those likely to object to the mask mandate at the NFL championship game.
“I love how people talk about personal freedom,” he said. “If you’re exercising personal freedom, but you put someone else in jeopardy, their health in jeopardy, I don’t consider that being very good with freedom.”
Mexico said on Saturday the United States has decided to temporarily suspend avocado shipments on security grounds from the western state of Michoacan, a major producing region that has faced chronic problems with gang violence.
Mexico’s Agriculture Ministry said U.S. health authorities had notified Mexico of the decision after one of its officials, who was carrying out inspection work in the city of Uruapan, Michoacan, received a threatening call to their cell phone.
The ministry said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is carrying out an investigation to assess the threat, and to determine what measures are needed to guarantee the safety of its personnel working in Michoacan.
The news is a setback to the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, with United States the top consumer of Mexican avocados, snapping up many thousands of tons each year to make guacamole, a favorite Super Bowl snack.
The Super Bowl will take place on Sunday.
The announcement was made hours after the U.S. government expressed dismay about violence against journalists in Mexico, following the latest in a series of killings of Reporters.
Michoacan has long been one of the most troubled states in Mexico and Lopez Obrador has struggled to impose himself against gangs that have kept violence near record levels on his watch.
The state has frequently been convulsed by turf wars between gangs, in particular the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most powerful outfits in the country.
Earlier this week, the Mexican Army said it had entered a part of Michoacan regarded by security experts as a stronghold of the CJNG, and restored order in 43 localities.
In the past six weeks, Michoacan exported over 135,000 tons of avocado to the United States, the ministry said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has endorsed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands to end NATO expansion and get security guarantees from the West, issues that have led to Russia’s standoff with the United States and its allies over Ukraine.
The two leaders met at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Friday afternoon, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, hours before the beginning of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which diplomats from the U.S., Britain and other countries are boycotting over human rights abuses.
The broadcaster did not provide details of the meeting, but Xi and Putin, both of whom have been criticized by the U.S. for their foreign and domestic policies, issued a joint statement underscoring their displeasure with “interference in the internal affairs” of other countries.
The joint statement proclaimed a new China-Russia strategic “friendship” that “has no limits” and no “forbidden areas of cooperation.”
China’s expressions of support for Russia comes as Moscow’s dispute with Ukraine threatens to escalate into armed conflict.
Service members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ride atop of a tank during military drills in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released Feb. 4, 2022. (Press service of the Joint Forces Operation/Handout via Reuters)
On Thursday, a senior Biden administration official said the U.S. has information indicating that Russia has developed a plan to stage a false Ukrainian military attack on Russian territory and leverage it as a pretext for an attack against Ukraine.
Fabricating a video of such an attack is one of several options the Kremlin is formulating to give it an excuse to invade Ukraine, the official said.
“The video will be released to underscore a threat to Russia’s security and to underpin military operations,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
“This video, if released, could provide Putin the spark he needs to initiate and justify military operations against Ukraine,” the official added.
The official said the Biden administration is disclosing specifics about Russia’s alleged plans to “dissuade” Russia from carrying out such plans.
In an interview Thursday with MSNBC, U.S. deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer said, “We don’t know definitively that this is the route they are going to take, but we know that this is an option under consideration.”
NATO welcomes more US troops
The Biden administration disclosed the intelligence after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday welcomed U.S. plans to deploy more troops to Europe and said NATO is considering sending additional battle groups to the southeastern part of its alliance amid tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border.
The U.S. on Wednesday announced plans to dispatch 2,000 more troops to Europe, most of them to Poland, and move 1,000 troops from Germany to Romania to bolster NATO’s eastern flank countries.
Military personnel from the 82nd Airborne Division and 18th Airborne Corps board a C-17 transport plane for deployment to Eastern Europe, amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Feb. 3, 2022.
Stoltenberg told reporters that while NATO is preparing for the possibility that Russia may take military action, NATO remains ready to engage in “meaningful dialogue” and find a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
“NATO continues to call on Russia to de-escalate. Any further Russian aggression would have severe consequences and carry a heavy price,” he said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday that the U.S. deployment is heightening tensions in the region.
The United States and other Western allies have been preparing economic sanctions to level against Russia in hopes of persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull back the more than 100,000 troops Russia has near the border with Ukraine. Russia has denied it plans to invade.
Stoltenberg said Thursday there has been a “significant movement of Russian military forces into Belarus,” Ukraine’s northern neighbor, where they are taking part in joint military drills that began Thursday instead of later this month as originally planned.
“This is the biggest Russian deployment there since the Cold War,” Stoltenberg said, referring to what he said were 30,000 troops, fighter jets and missile systems.
Belarusian military helicopters fly during the joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus at a firing range in the Brest Region, Belarus, Feb. 3, 2022.
Russia has not disclosed how many troops or the amount of military hardware it has in Belarus.
Thursday’s exercises, which are expected to continue until February 20, involved live fire, according to images released by the Belarusian defense minister. They also showed fighter jets in the sky and tanks firing and maneuvering.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu witnessed the exercises after arriving in Minsk Thursday, and he also met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Russia has demanded that NATO pull back troops and weapons deployed in eastern European member countries, and to make clear that Ukraine cannot join the 30-member military alliance.
NATO and Ukraine have rejected those demands, saying countries are free to pick their allies.
But Stoltenberg said Thursday that NATO is ready to talk to Russia about relations between the two sides, and about risk reduction, increased transparency and arms control.
EU plans united response
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday the 27-nation bloc is planning a response to letters Russia sent earlier this week to several EU members about its demand for security guarantees.
During a visit to Helsinki, von der Leyen told reporters, “We are united in the European Union and therefore it is clear that the response will mirror, will reflect that unity.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a joint news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2022.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Thursday he welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s offer to mediate the crisis and to host peace negotiations. Zelenskiy’s comments came after the two leaders signed a free trade deal and other agreements while meeting in Kyiv.
Erdogan previously suggested Turkey, a NATO member that also has good relations with Russia, could act as a mediator.
Erdogan’s visit to Ukraine is the latest in a series of visits to Kyiv by world leaders and diplomats to show support for Ukraine and try to advance a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Self-care measures were “vital” during the covid-19 pandemic in Latin America to maintain health, deal with the disease and relieve pressure on health systems, a study revealed on Thursday.
The study “Impact of COVID-19 on health habits, use and purchase of self-care products and experience with digital services” of the Latin American Association for Responsible Self-Care (ILAR) It was carried out in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama.
The document, which conducted online interviews with 4,667 people (57% women and 43% men), detailed that 84% of Latin Americans admitted that self-management of their health occupies a “very relevant” place.
Thus, 56% of those interviewed suspended their consultations and 21% discontinued prescription treatments.
Those surveyed decided to bet on a healthier life, since 73% said they maintain a good diet and play sports.
Likewise, 49% indicated that they acquire over-the-counter medications to treat minor conditions, despite the fact that 52% admitted that they did not have the adequate knowledge to take self-care actions with confidence.
Access to products and lack of health education
For him 91% of Latin Americans found it “easy” to access self-care and non-prescription products, and 86% said there was sufficient availability of over-the-counter medicines during the pandemic. 30% used e-commerce at least once to buy these products.
The countries with the highest availability of over-the-counter medicines are Colombia and Costa Rica, with 90%, followed by Argentina and Guatemala, 89%, Brazil, 86%, Mexico, 85%, Chile and Panama, both with 80%, and in last place, Peru, with 79%.
91% would like to receive more information to take better care and self-manage simple and non-serious conditions, since the main sources of consultation are health professionals, family and friends, and the Internet.
Given this, the study highlighted that 90% look for information about medicines on the Internet and 94% consider it “essential” to have more details on the network, although 62% believe that there is “enough” information about medicines on the web.
Still, 57% prefer to go to online pharmacy and other sites, and even 45% applaud the incorporation of new technologies in the packaging, such as the quick response (QR) code, to obtain more information about the medicine.
42 percent used telemedicine
In Latin America, 42% of those surveyed used telemedicine during the pandemic, of which the majority (92%) had a good experience, so much so that 85% would use it again in the future.
Brazil was the country that reported the lowest use of this type of consultation, with 32%, and Colombia reported the highest, with 66%.
56% used digital services and of these, 93% would do so again after the pandemic to obtain information on symptoms, monitor healthy activities, follow up, care or appointments for medical consultations, and monitor symptoms related or not to the covid-19.
The number of video consultations has grown exponentially during the pandemic. Photo courtesy of the Spanish Association of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV).
This initiative is part of the Spanish Institute of Resilience and the Official College of Physicians of Madrid through an online program whose objective, through resilience, is to strengthen health workers against future pandemics, in addition to facing the current pandemic fatigue.
“We want to prevent the post-traumatic stress that many professionals are suffering, since they are the ones who have to take care of us and they are also people. After two years of pandemic we need to strengthen the mental health of health workers by transforming stress into resilience to prevent them from becoming more vulnerable in the future”, Rafaela Santos, neuropsychiatrist and president of the Spanish Institute of Resilience (IER), explains to EFEsalud.
The project “is very ambitious” and will be open throughout 2022. Initially, it was prepared to accommodate 100 toilets, but they are already working to expand it to 1,000. All professionals in the world of health can benefit from the program, since its recipients are “caregivers”, and it can even be extended to the general population in the future.
“We offer the possibility of opening it to other countries so that someone can be trained and at the same time train other people. The idea is to train trainers, it can be very beneficial”, points out the neuropsychiatrist.
The project consists of a 30 hour program for four weeks with sessions of “live learning” adapted to each patient and with personalized monitoring by a tutor.
In the first place, a diagnosis will be made to assess the starting point of the mental health of each health worker and find out what is the best procedure to follow.
The program is made up of four modules (self-knowledge, neuroscience and stress, emotion management and resilience) that open every week, where recorded materials are housed together with evaluation tests.
It is led by a multidisciplinary team of professionals from the world of mental health and resilience. The direction is provided by José A. Cabrales, psychoneuroendocrinologist; Noelia Mata, expert psychologist in Emotional Intelligence and Resilience; and Rafaela Santos herself.
work stress
In the sessions, the emotional part is developed and later, the stress is worked on. Finally, the healthcare provider is helped to create and strengthen their resilience.
“Chronic stress is what damages the body. Acute stress can be beneficial because it makes us more productive and helps us overcome challenges, so it makes us feel good. The problem is when this stress becomes chronic in the body because there is no possibility of recovery and challenges that we cannot face occur, “says the expert.
“This ends up generating changes in the body – he adds – that manifest with symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress. In 10% of the people who suffer from pandemic fatigue these symptoms develop and in the health workers that we have treated, it is very present, so it must be prevented.”
Despite the short duration of the program, the idea is that the people served can create a structure that allows them to face future challenges. In the most serious cases, professionals are given treatment and, if necessary, pharmacological treatment to alleviate the symptoms.
A health worker attends to a covid patient in a hospital in Rome. EFE/EPA/GIUSEPPE LAMI
Motivation, the most common problem
The project, which began in January, shows that one out of every two health workers treated so far suffer from sleep disorders.
However, the neuropsychiatrist points out that “lack of motivation and stress are the most frequent symptoms”, in addition to depression and irritability problems.
“Health professionals are at risk of infecting themselves and their families. In their work, important decisions must be made, such as who should be given a respirator according to the protocols, as happened during the first wave. A more expensive and painful framework than the one suffered by the general population”, affirms Rafaela Santos.
“Some governments had set up hotlines, but these programs are ineffective, as is the case with the suicide hotline. The health centers have done what they could, but the vulnerability is greater than the resources », he points out.
«From the Institute we believe that these patches do not solve the real problem, since the solution is intervention programs and we must know how to communicate it to the administrations. We want this program to be known so that the health workers know that they can count on us”, Santos maintains.
In the case of young health professionals, this is magnified. Recently three resident doctors in Madrid committed suicide due to the harsh conditions, a fact that is of particular concern.
The neuropsychiatrist explains that “young health workers are not hardened by experience and begin with all the illusion to cure and helplessly watch people die without any support.”
For this reason, its intention is to “intervene and help them in converting this pandemic fatigue into an acceptable situation”.
burnt out syndrome
According to the union Association of Doctors and Higher Graduates of Madrid (AMYTS), 50% of the Madrid health workforce suffer from “burnout”, also known as “burnt worker syndrome”, which refers to the chronification of work stress.
The union denounces that around a twenty % of the professionals they want to leave the profession due to harsh working conditions and a 15% are polymedicated to work.
The World Health Organization has called this problem pandemic fatigue, which refers to “a reaction of exhaustion, which appears gradually over time, in the face of sustained and unresolved adversity, which can lead to alienation and despair”.
This means that when a person is subjected for a long time to a chronic severe stress and intermittent as has happened in this COVID situation there is a risk that there will be no chance of recovery.
According to the WHO, 60% of the world population suffers from this disorder and 40% of Spaniards. In the case of health workers, this problem is aggravated because they have had to continue attending, doubling shifts and seeing their patients suffer and die.
From the College of Physicians and the Resilience Institute are offering scholarships to participate in the program free of charge thanks to the sponsorship of companies and foundations that have joined the cause such as the La Caixa Foundation, Mahou, the Ramón Areces Foundation or the insurance company Línea Directa. In addition, they have opened a crowdfunding so that the whole society can get involved and collaborate.
In 2020, the Resilience Institute set up a free phone line until the summer because they saw the need to take care of mental health. They attended to 432 people, both from the general population and healthcare professionals, and they realized that there was a problem.
Many health workers with whom they have contacted explain that “they do not want to hear more about covid and not even about treatments because they are tired and cannot continue fighting.”
For this reason, from the program they emphasize that, through resilience, “it is time to act in the background so that they recover that capacity that they have lost during these two years of pandemic and can take on the challenges that are to come.”
