RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The city hall of São Paulo released on Friday, March 26, through the Health Secretariat, a study that pointed out that 64.4% of the cases of Covid-19 in the city of São Paulo in March were caused by the Manaus strain, the so-called P1.
The study, although small, reveals the prevalence of the Brazilian variant. Of the 73 samples valid for the study, 47 were infected with the Manaus variant and another 5 (6.8%) with the UK strain. “It’s a snapshot of the pandemic in São Paulo at this moment,” said secretary Edson Aparecido.
According to city hall analyses, the first detections of the variant in the city appeared in studies of this type the week of February 22.
Cases of the Manaus variant have been detected in all regions of the city. The West region is the most affected, with 88% of the records, the South region is the one with the lowest number: 57.1% of the cases were caused by this strain.
The highest incidence of Covid-19 in the São Paulo capital is in the age group between 20 and 54 years.