Bahia governor predicts Brazil will plunge into chaos in two weeks because of Covid-19

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bahia governor Rui Costa (PT-BA) predicts that “healthcare will collapse and Brazil will plunge into chaos in two weeks.” He made the statement on Thursday, February 25th, after announcing the suspension of all non-essential activities in the state over the weekend in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We are now watching the problem getting worse all over the country. In Rio Grande do Sul, in Bahia, in Ceará. We have never had a situation like this,” he says.

He states that he had 1,000 ICU beds exclusive to Covid-19. Ten days ago, he opened an additional 200. “And they filled up overnight,” he says. The situation is so dramatic that today there are 195 patients waiting for an ICU bed, needing intensive care with no means to get it.”

On Thursday, the state registered a record 100 death notifications. “At the peak of the first wave, in July last year, we registered 80 deaths on the worst day,” he says.

The governor believes that, in addition to the population being tired of complying with isolation measures, the new strains of the coronavirus circulating in Brazil – particularly the Manaus variant – are more contagious and lethal.

“We are currently still registering a lower number of infections, but the explosion of hospitalizations and deaths is much more serious than in July 2020,” he says. “In the past, virtually all deaths were of people over 60 years of age. Now, young people, 30 to 50, are also dying.”

That month, the state recorded 30,000 active Covid-19 cases and 800 ICU beds occupied. This week, there are 18,000 active cases and 1,200 beds occupied, in addition to a record number of deaths in a single day.

“The pressure has never been this high,” the governor says.