Ministry of Health extends health alert to Tarapacá and Antofagasta

The Ministry of Health expanded the sanitary alert for the emergency caused by the frontal system to the regions of Tarapacá and Antofagasta, through Decree No. 71, of August 20, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,531 on Saturday, August 22, 2026, Section I, General Norms (official reference CVE 2860258). The measure modifies Decree No. 64, of July 20, 2026, which had already declared a sanitary alert for the regions of Atacama and Coquimbo, and was signed by the Minister of Health, Ximena Aguilera…

The regulation, signed by order of the President of the Republic by the Minister of Health, May Chomalí Garib, responds to the extension of the hydrometeorological threat toward the northern macrozone, associated with an upper-level trough causing intense precipitation, activation of ravines, mass movements, flooding, and connectivity restrictions. The National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response decreed a Red Alert for the province of Iquique and the commune of Huara, in Tarapacá, and for the entire Antofagasta Region, while the Ministry of the Interior declared a constitutional state of exception (catastrophe) in the province of Tocopilla through Decree No. 133, of August 18, 2026, for 30 days.

Healthcare network collapsed in the northern macrozone

The expansion is justified by the significant impact on the healthcare network of both regions, with damages compromising clinical and emergency areas, pharmacy, vaccination centers, sterilization, warehouses, dialysis, oncology, mental health, electrical systems, and SAMU regulation. The balance of establishments is as follows:

• Tarapacá Region: 9 health establishments non-operational and 5 semi-operational.
• Antofagasta Region: 1 establishment non-operational and 6 semi-operational.

Emergency demand and affected personnel

Between 00:00 and 17:00 hours on August 18, 467 emergency consultations were recorded in the Tarapacá Region and 560 in the Antofagasta Region, a demand that must be absorbed by a network with closed or semi-operational establishments. Additionally, 22 affected health officials are reported in Tarapacá and 1 in Antofagasta, which could compromise the availability of personnel for care within the context of the emergency.

Scope of the expansion

The decree adds the regions of Tarapacá and Antofagasta to the total, in the first article, in the fourth article (Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Health), and in the fifth article (Health Services) of Decree No. 64. The original decree, whose sanitary alert remains in effect until October 31, 2026, remains valid in all non-modified parts. The expansion completes the sanitary coverage of the affected macrozone and prevents operational asymmetry between healthcare networks subjected to the same emergency.

The measure implies an extraordinary response framework equivalent to the one already in effect in Atacama and Coquimbo, with powers to concentrate human, financial, technological, and logistical resources, as well as medications, supplies, and infrastructure. For the inhabitants of the northern macrozone, the alert seeks to guarantee the continuity and timeliness of health care in the face of the epidemiological risk of an increase in acute respiratory infections, gastrointestinal diseases, and trauma.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,531, August 22, 2026, Section I, General Norms, pág. 1-3 (official reference: CVE 2860258).