Brazil Records 35,000 New Covid-19 Cases (November 17th)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil has recorded 35,294 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 685 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the latest bulletin released by the Ministry of Health. According to data released by the Ministry, a total of 5,911,798 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 166,699 deaths have been recorded since the start of the pandemic. The number of recovered cases stands at 5,361,592.

According to the epidemiological bulletin released last night, November 17th, there are 383,467 cases under follow-up. The incidence rate of the disease per 100,000 inhabitants stands at 2,813.2 and lethality (deaths per infection) at 2.8 percent.

The Southeast Region concentrates the highest number of cases and deaths, with 2,066,435 and 75,791, respectively. Next are the Northeast, South, North and Midwest. The state with the highest number of cases and deaths is São Paulo, with 1,178075 infections and 40,748 deaths.

Rio de Janeiro

The state of Rio de Janeiro recorded 330,009 cases since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March. According to a bulletin released yesterday, the disease resulted in the death of 21,474 people in the state, and 309,941 people have recovered.

The capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro counts 127,921 cases and 12,653 confirmed deaths from Covid-19. The other four cities with the most cases are Niterói (17,122), São Gonçalo (15,369), Belford Roxo (11,278), and Duque de Caxias (11,274), all withing the Metropolitan area of the capital. In terms of number of deaths, the list changes in order: after Rio, the cities with the highest number of deaths are Duque de Caxias (808), São Gonçalo (803), Nova Iguaçu (718), and Niterói (538).

Rolling average of deaths

Between November 11th and 16th, the state recorded a high rolling average of Covid-19 deaths, which had reached its lowest level since the start of the pandemic on November 11th, with an average of 30 daily victims over a seven-day period.

According to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation monitoring panel, there were five consecutive days of growth, and the rolling average of deaths rose to a daily 56.57 cases in the seven-day period ended on Monday. The increase reversed the drop the indicator had accumulated in November and moved the rolling average closer to the level recorded at the start of the month.

The rolling average of deaths is an indicator considered important by researchers to assess the trend of the pandemic with less interference from daily fluctuations. The calculation consists of adding the deaths recorded over the past 24 hours to those of the preceding six days, and dividing the result by seven.

Occupancy rate

With fewer beds available than at the peak of the pandemic, the National Health System (SUS) in the city of Rio de Janeiro had patients in 79 percent of the intensive care unit (ICU) spaces exclusive for Covid-19 on Monday. With 403 patients, these beds are from the municipal, state and federal systems and are located in the capital, according to the Municipal Health Secretariat. On Sunday, November 15th, occupancy stood at 80 percent, with 415 people in the ICU.

When only the municipal system beds are considered, occupancy reached 97 percent on Sunday, with 244 patients hospitalized in 251 beds. On Monday, November 16th, occupancy decreased to about 92 percent, with 230 patients in 251 ICU beds.

Source: Agência Brasil