After confirming new strains, São Paulo inland city Araraquara decrees lockdown

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Araraquara, located 277 km from São Paulo, has decreed a 15-day lockdown with even more restrictive measures.

After confirming the circulation of new Covid-19 strains detected in Amazonas and in the United Kingdom, Araraquara – which was in the red phase of the São Paulo Plan – decreed a 15-day lockdown with even more restrictive measures, as of this Monday, February 15th.

With the restrictions, only people working in essential services (supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations, among others) or using any of these services will be allowed to travel in the city. Services may only be provided up to 8 PM.

The decree was signed by Mayor Edinho Silva on Friday, February 12th, the same day the circulation of mutations was confirmed by the Institute of Tropical Medicine, linked to the University of São Paulo (USP).

About 16 samples were submitted to the institute for analysis, but the city hall did not report how many of these exhibited virus strains.

“The news of virus mutations in circulation will demand more stringency from us and a greater sacrifice from society, so that we will not lose control in the fight against the disease, so that our patients will have beds,” said the mayor in a statement.

On Sunday, February 14th, the city recorded 167 new infections and 3 deaths. A total of 12,127 confirmed cases and 146 deaths had been registered since the start of the pandemic, according to the city hall’s last report.

According to the city hall, February has become the month with the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in Araraquara, in only 13 days, with 27 fatalities, exceeding the 24 registered in the whole of January. The city reached 100% occupancy of ward beds and 96% of ICU beds on Sunday.

Source: Noticias ao Minuto