RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The city of São Paulo has once again registered an increase in hospitalizations due to suspected Covid-19. In the past 7 days, 1,170 hospitalizations were recorded, an increase of 47.5% compared to the previous 7 days, when 793 new patients were admitted.
The figures were analyzed by the Covid-19 Br Observatory based on data from the hospital census organized by the SEADE Foundation, which compiles records of admissions supplied by hospitals on a daily basis.
According to UNESP (São Paulo State University) professor Roberto Kraenkel, a member of the Observatory, this surge is explained by the presence of a new infectious agent, which may be the coronavirus Omicron variant or the H3N2 influenza virus, which has triggered flu epidemics in several Brazilian states.
Municipal Health Secretary Edson Aparecido denied that there are indications of an increase in hospitalizations in the municipal network. He said the capital currently has only one hospital referenced for the treatment of Covid-19.
The São Paulo City Hall last week confirmed the Omicron’s community circulation, when 7 cases of the variant were reported among people who had no contact with travelers.
According to Mayor Ricardo Nunes, 300 people are being monitored for having attended a party in which a 67-year-old man was infected who had no history of traveling abroad.
According to the Observatory’s expert, new hospitalizations in the city have doubled in an interval of 3 to 5 days, which coincides with the pattern seen in Europe regarding hospitalizations caused by the Omicron variant.
“There is still confusion with [the diagnosis] of influenza, but it is still a public health emergency in any case,” Kraenkel says regarding the increase in hospitalized patients.
The confusion is due to the similarity of symptoms caused by the two diseases. In addition, according to the Observatory member, few patients are tested to determine whether they have been infected with the coronavirus or the flu virus.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the Omicron’s speed of transmission continues at an unprecedented rate, and the new strain has now been detected in 77 countries.
The influenza A H3N2 virus, the same associated with the recent flu epidemic in Rio de Janeiro, is circulating in the city of São Paulo and is causing an increase in the number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations in both public and private hospitals.
Since early last week, the City Hall has been testing all patients with flu symptoms who seek the municipal network for Covid-19. According to the municipality, testing is performed using the antigen method.
The number of people with flu symptoms in the municipal network in the first half of December represents 82% of records in the 30 days of November, according to Health Secretariat data.
The growth rate in hospitalizations observed in the past two weeks is equivalent to the first months of the pandemic in the city and also the initial period of community circulation of the Gamma variant, detected in August, when there was a higher ICU and ward beds occupancy.
According to Kraenkel, the figures are a warning sign and call for urgent measures, such as accelerating the administration of the vaccines’ booster dose and the vaccination of children.