SANTIAGO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Chile's Health Ministry on Monday issued a public health advisory for northern regions following a deadly winter storm, citing heightened respiratory virus risks amid the Southern Hemisphere's winter season.
Health Minister May Chomali said the government is taking "preventive measures" such as mass hepatitis A vaccinations to protect public health.
Heavy rains have battered the northern Atacama and Coquimbo regions since last week. "What normally rains in a month fell in an hour," Interior Undersecretary Maximo Pavez said. The rainfall has killed at least ten people, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency.
Chomali said authorities were concerned about health risks linked to such weather-related disasters, including loss of access to potable water, flooded communities being cut off from outside help and difficulties in distributing medicines.
She added that the advisory would help restore damaged hospital infrastructure more quickly and give authorities greater flexibility, including the ability to "transport patients more expeditiously from remote areas" when they cannot receive care locally. ■
