RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Approximately 1.64 million people in the city of São Paulo – 13.9 percent of the total population – have already been infected with the novel coronavirus. This is the result of the fifth stage of the serological survey conducted by the City Hall, which tested 5,700 adults throughout the city.
The study showed that contamination is six times higher among the poorest than among the wealthiest. Among classes D and E, the percentage of infection reached 18.7 percent and, in classes A and B, it stood at 3.1 percent. Infection is also above the average among blacks (17.4 percent), while it is 10.7 percent among whites.
Despite the significant difference, an increase in the rate of people who had contact with the virus was observed in the center-west part of the city, where some of the wealthiest neighborhoods are located. The percentage rose from 5.2 percent in the preceding survey round to 10.3 percent. However, the far eastern region holds the highest rate of infection (19.6 percent), followed by the far south (15.1 percent).
The option of working from home emerged as a form of protection in relation to the virus. Among those who remained in remote work, the rate of infection stood at 7.2 percent, and among those who were forced to leave for work, at 18.9 percent. The unemployed showed a rate of 14.9 percent infection with the virus.
The majority of people who had contact with the virus, although they had antibodies, showed no symptoms – 61.8 percent were asymptomatic.
The last report disclosed by the São Paulo City Hall records 18,900 suspected or confirmed deaths by Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.