Covid 19: Honduras at its Breaking Point

Patient on ventilator in Honduran Hospital
photo from El Heraldo website

It seems like you can check your favorite news site any given hour and receive brand new Covid-19 statistics from the U.S. and key European and Asian countries. Yet, you’re probably not finding much about Honduras. There have been many requests for updates, so Trish and Allen have provided some new numbers and information for us.

Since we last spoke, the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Honduras has risen to 52. Now, that may not sound like much to your media overloaded eyes and ears, so let’s consider the facts. The Honduran Health Department speculated that 32 serious cases would overwhelm the country’s healthcare system.

According to the Honduran newspaper, El Heraldo, there are currently 103 ventilators in the entire country and 90% of those are already in use by other patients. That leaves 10 ventilators for Coronavirus patients. Let that soak in for a second. This isn’t a matter of evaluating each case to determine who is given life-saving medical treatment. There is simply nothing to do.

Ward set up for Coronavirus patients, in Honduran hospital
Photo from El Heraldo website

Trish said, “We are going to be desperate for a lot of prayer very soon.”

So, while we all have our own personal concerns, we need to remember the bigger picture, too. One of the confirmed cases was in the department of Lempira, and several other individuals in the area are currently suspected of having the virus, after having contact with the confirmed patient. Because of this, Lempira is now under the country’s most severe restrictions (along with several other locations).

While stores that sell food are allowed to be open, people are not supposed to go out and get food. They are supposed to use the sort of delivery system that, while common in big cities, is practically unheard of in Lempira. (Even in the capital, Tegucigalpa, Rachel said the delivery apps are too overwhelmed to keep up with the demand.) Some days ago, Russell went to Gracias for groceries. Even though the store was open, he had to call from the parking lot, place an order, and have it delivered to his vehicle.

To give you a better idea of the scope, Allen said that Honduras is divided up into 18 departments. The department of Lempira compares in size to roughly four U.S. counties. Each department is divided into municipalities, and Lempira has 28 municipalities.

Example of road blocked by local community, in Lempira Department
Photo from GRT Honduras Facebook page

After the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Lempira, each municipality in Lempira has been given the responsibility of closing itself off from the rest of the world. That means that communities are putting up fences, felling trees, and pouring truckloads of dirt and rocks to block roads. When the government puts up roadblocks, they close the main roads, with a checkpoint, and they allow people to pass through with the appropriate permissions in place. When the people of a community close a road, they block off all of the side paths.

Officially, citizens are not supposed to leave their own property without one of the authorized reasons. Most places will have certain days when the banks will be open, and individuals will be allowed to visit the banks, with specific days for seniors only. Lempira is not “most places” since the area is under an extra lockdown; the banks are not opening in Lempira.

The Sowers' home and ministry center is located just inside the municipality of Gracias, which extends beyond the city of Gracias. When the roads into the city were shut down, that left the Sowerses on the other side of the roadblocks. No one can travel from one sector to the next without special permission.

Currently, there is no way for the Sowerses to get into the city of Gracias, for food, bottled water, or for any other reason, as the roads out from their home have been blocked by ditches and downed trees and such.

Government agencies, local businesses, organizations, and individuals, are distributing food
to the needier families in and around Gracias.
Photo from GRT Honduras Facebook page

The more well-to-do families in the area are dealing with the same situation as the Sowerses. Those with fewer resources, who still rely on purchasing food, are starting to struggle. Those who grow their own food are less affected, but they are a people on the edge in normal times, and getting hit with serious illness will cause severe problems.

To sum up the situation, Trish said, “If there is a major outbreak, there’s nothing Honduras can do about it. We’re already at the breaking point.”

Our prayer lists are long, but please add one more concern to yours. Like so many people in Honduras, the people at Sowers4Pastors are physically cut off from any medical help, should the need arise. This goes beyond one virus. If someone had an accident or a major health concern, there is already no way of getting to treatment, even before any serious cases of the virus have hit the area. Please also pray for the people of Honduras, who are facing even harder times than normal, in the coming weeks and months.

 - posted by Christi