Nicaragua: Doctors denounce cult of government secrecy around coronavirus

At the Jardin del Recuerdo cemetery in Managua, Nicaragua on May 20, 2020. REUTERS / Oswaldo Rivas

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In Nicaragua, medical associations denounce the government's “cult of secrecy” around the coronavirus. Despite the progression of the epidemic, it is the only country in Central America not to have been placed in containment. For having criticized this decision, a renowned infectious disease specialist was dismissed.

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Like many of his colleagues, Doctor Carlos Quant called for “voluntary” confinement in the absence of a clear policy put in place by the government of Daniel Ortega. The infectious disease specialist worked for 20 years for the public hospital. "  His dismissal highlights the total lack of respect for human rights on the part of the authorities,  " said a press release issued by several medical associations on behalf of which Dr Jose Borge spoke: " Dr Carlos Quant is one of the national medical authorities who have best expressed the experience of health personnel and who has given precise, scientific and technical recommendations on how the Covid-19 epidemic should be managed. But his interventions were the reason for his dismissal without the legal dismissal process being followed. Doctor Carlos Quant was accompanied by guards who kicked him out of the hospital in an almost violent manner. They acted in the same way as with certain doctors who had criticized the management of the political crisis of 2018. ”

Two years ago, in fact, thousands of demonstrators braved a bloody repression to demand the resignation of Daniel Ortega. The Sandinista president is accused of having established a corrupt dictatorship. Today, despite the recommendations of international health organizations, he refuses to set up containment. He is also accused of taking advantage of the pandemic to accelerate the invasion of the territories of indigenous communities.

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  • Coronavirus
  • Nicaragua

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