Almost all of the care provided by beach surveillance services in recent days has been due to jellyfish stings, according to La Voz from both the Red Cross and Emerlan.
In the case of the Red Cross, which provides its services on the beaches of El Reducto, Las Cucharas, Playa Grande and Playa Blanca, in the last week up to 50 cases of jellyfish stings have been registered. "No case was transferred to the hospital, but they were recommended to go to the health center to be treated, since we only give them saline solution," explains the president of the Red Cross on the island, Rafael Hernández.
Emerlan conveys the same version and, although the NGO does not have concrete figures, it assures that since there are jellyfish on the beaches of the island, 99 percent of the care they have provided has been in this regard. Specifically, they refer to the beaches of Famara, Los Pocillos and Matagorda. "One day I was on duty on a beach and that day there were up to 35 stings," says Joni Pérez, from Emerlan, who adds that the problem is that jellyfish "become massified by areas".
One of the cases occurred in Playa Honda, where a jellyfish stung a man on the neck. "I saw the sign warning that there were jellyfish, but, like a smart aleck, I went into the water," explains this man, who points out that "the prohibition of entering the water should not be taken as a joke."
Despite the fact that the island's emergency services maintain that jellyfish stings have dominated their care on the beaches in recent days, the island's Director of Health, Erasmo García, states that "there have only been some stings." "We have no record of cases registered in the hospital and there have been hardly any in health centers. There have been some stings, but nothing more. Fortunately, we are calm," he says.
Imprudence?
The Red Cross assures that people are behaving "quite well" and that, generally, "they heed the recommendations not to bathe." "If there is a red or yellow flag they do not bathe, although if there is a green one, they do, but as soon as there is a sting, the alarm goes off and we check the level of jellyfish there is," explains the president of the NGO on the island, Rafael Hernández.
However, Emerlan does highlight that there is a certain "imprudence" on the part of the people. "Despite the prevention campaign and the fact that you advise them and tell them not to get in, they don't pay any attention," says Joni Pérez.
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