After Commerce Reopened in Santa Catarina, Coronavirus Cases Tripled

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – New cases of coronavirus in the state of Santa Catarina have more than tripled since the state authorized the return of street trade on April 13th. On that date, there were 826 Covid-19 patients, a figure that climbed to 2,795 on Tuesday, May 5th. Over the same period, deaths increased from 26 to 58.

By note, the state government said the increase is due to the fact that Santa Catarina has joined two systems of the Ministry of Health (e-SUS VE and SIVEP Flu) — and the cases confirmed by rapid serological test, clinical criteria and epidemiological link are now counted — and also to an “expected trend in the face of the progress of the pandemic”.

On April 12th, the state totaled 776 people infected. On the 19th, there were 1,025, a difference of 249 cases. Seven days later, on April 26th, the number rose to 1,337, that is, 312 more patients. And on May 3rd, Santa Catarina recorded 2,519 people infected with coronavirus – 1,182 new cases compared to the preceding week.

On April 28th alone, the government recorded 519 new cases in relation to the preceding day, the greatest variation in 24 hours to date. The then-Secretary of Health, Helton Zeferino, assessed that the increase was due to the integration of the state database panel to e-SUS and Sivep Influenza.

An assessment using a mathematical model conducted by 11 researchers from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Joinville Region University (Univille), Itajaí Valley University (Univali) and Waterloo University, Canada, shows the change in the growth pattern of cases.

The flattening has ceased to exist since April 28th, being a likely consequence of the April 13th clearance, explained Oscar Bruna-Romero, one of the researchers involved. He is a professor of microbiology at the UFSC and an expert in infectious diseases and vaccines.

Typically, the data will explain what happened, in terms of contamination, over a period of approximately seven to 14 days, explains UFSC professor of Public Health Sérgio Freitas, a specialist and researcher in the area. The growth rate of infected people was low until the week of April 24th, he said. “From then on, there was significant growth. If we work with this window, an important part of the new cases resulted from the reopening of trade”.

He considers that two factors are associated with this increase: there are more people walking on the streets, and initially many were not wearing masks; and the false sense that with the restart of several activities things were returning to normal, leading the population to taking less precautions. In this respect, Freitas criticizes the Santa Catarina government.

For the researcher, the decision to relax measures was not based on an epidemiological study, but rather on the economic aspect and on the occupation rate of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, considered low in relation to other states. “Filling many beds with Covid-19 is not a goal. It should not be,” he said.

Freitas said he considers the epidemic has not reached its peak. “Perhaps this reversal could happen if we had maintained all isolation measures, although from the economic standpoint it would probably be much more complicated, much more disastrous. What we would undoubtedly have would be a plateau at a much lower level,” he said.

A slower relaxation would have been best in order to prevent an escalation in cases, says Professor Oscar.

According to data from the Ministry of Health updated on Wednesday morning, Santa Catarina had an incidence rate of 366 infections per one million inhabitants, the 17th among the states. The mortality rate was eight per one million people, 21st among the other units of the federation.

Reopening

Trade, in general, was closed after the state decreed an emergency situation on March 17th as a means to stop the spread of coronavirus. The measure was taken after community transmission of the virus was detected in Santa Catarina. At the time, there were seven confirmed cases of the disease.

The reopening of street stores was only authorized almost a month later, with rules such as the ban on trying on clothes, shoes, accessories, and other items, reducing the number of customers to 50 percent of capacity, and the wearing of masks by employees and customers. The reopening of shopping malls occurred the following week, as of April 22nd.

On April 11th, when announcing the temporary release of the sector, Governor Carlos Moisés stated that if necessary, the measure would be reviewed and that the municipal governments were authorized to restrict activities if they found it necessary. The matter was discussed again at a press conference on Monday, May 4th.

Florianópolis, for instance, the city with the largest number of cases in the state, chose to defer the restart of commerce for a week, also imposing health rules on businesses. Entering establishments without masks is not allowed and supermarkets are required to check customers’ temperature at the door, among other restrictions.

In Blumenau, which like most cities in Santa Catarina allowed stores to reopen from the date set by the state, the number of cases of Covid-19 has tripled since then: there were 68 patients infected, a number that has now increased to 241, according to the latest update released by the Santa Catarina government.

Flexibility and rules in force

The decree imposing quarantine has been extended at least five times and, since becoming effective, school classes, events in general, and public transports are banned. Initially, the government allowed only sectors considered essential, such as pharmacies, markets, water and gas distributors, and gas stations, for instance.

However, little by little, it has relaxed some rules, authorizing building construction, self-employed professionals, street trade, restaurants and hotels, shopping malls, gyms, religious services, and the return of physical activities in outdoor areas such as beaches, parks, and squares. In the meantime, it has also become mandatory for the population to wear masks whenever visiting any business or leisure establishment.

In spite of the releases, the state still recommends that social isolation be followed and that people only leave home if necessary.

Beds and testing

To fight the pandemic, the government established the Center for Emergency Health Operations (COES) and has since been trying to prepare the public structure for patients with the disease. According to the state, 343 new ICU beds have been set up in public and charitable hospitals since the start of the pandemic, 40 percent more than the former hospital capacity.

By Tuesday, May 5th, the state had a 15.7 percent occupation rate of the ICU beds reserved for Covid-19 by the Unified Health System (SUS). In total, a further 420 are available.

Since the start of the pandemic, the state has received 20 of the total 2,000 ICU beds pledged by the Ministry of Health to address Covid-19 throughout the country.

Regarding tests, the State Health Secretariat said patients seeking health facilities with specific symptoms are referred and rapid tests are performed on health and safety professionals. The Central Public Health Laboratory of Santa Catarina (Lacen) is currently able to process approximately 700 RT PCR tests per day, it added.

Source: G1