Brazilian Health Minister Says After Elections “No More Talk of Social Distancing”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Amid restrictions in some parts of the country to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, Minister of Health Eduardo Pazuello said on Wednesday, December 2nd, that there can be no more discussion about social distancing after the campaign for municipal elections was conducted with crowds and there was no “increase in infection” by the coronavirus in Brazil.

However, the Minister’s statement was criticized by experts. Figures also show an increase in infections.

“If this virus is spread by crowding, by personal contact, by aerosols – and we have had the largest democratic campaign in our country in the past two months, the municipal one, – if this has not led to any kind of rise or increase in contamination, then we can no longer discuss a lockdown or anything,” Pazuello said during a hearing in the Congress committee that monitors measures to tackle the pandemic.

“If the whole municipal electoral process, with all the campaigns, crowds and events, if this has not caused any kind of increase in contamination in our country, then there will be no more talk of social distancing,” said the Minister.

Then, the Minister said that a “change of flow” can be observed in the statistics, but he downplayed the rise in cases.

“Of course there’s a small increase for that reason. Sorry, I’ll use another term: of course there’s a change of flow, of our sine wave. Things happen that cause it to rise, things happen that cause it to drop. That’s observation and knowledge,” he said.

However, data from the media outlet consortium released on Tuesday, December 1st, show that the rolling average in the past 7 days was of 38,154 new diagnoses per day, the highest since September 6th – when the country reached 39,356. This represents a 35% variation over the cases registered in two weeks, which points to an upward trend in diagnoses.

Rise in cases in the campaign

The Minister’s remarks differ from the assessment of the government of São Paulo. The coordinator of the Covid-19 Contingency Center, José Medina, said last week that election campaigns for mayor and city councilor in the state of São Paulo have encouraged “body to body contacts, crowds, and parties,” which may have driven the spread of the coronavirus.

Experts consulted by G1 also countered Pazuello’s declarations.

“The increase in the number of cases in recent weeks is clear, according to the data presented exhaustively, and in a very competent way, by the media consortium. There has been an increase in the rolling average of cases and deaths,” said epidemiologist Pedro Hallal, Director of the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) in Rio Grande do Sul.

“As to whether or not a lockdown is effective, the Minister demonstrates ignorance of scientific literature on the subject, given the vast evidence of the millions of lives that have been saved in the world with good circulation restriction policies,” added the expert. According to Paulo Lotufo, epidemiologist at USP Medical School, “we are now witnessing [the consequences] of the first round. In 15, 20 days, we will see more still”.

“The increase, the surge, the second wave, whatever it is, is precisely due to what occurred in the elections. He [Pazuello] has a problem of perception, of associating one thing with another. What obviously happened was that the elections were an exaggeration, in the states and municipalities, and now we’re paying for it,” Lotufo said.

Natália Pasternak, president of the Questão de Ciência Institute, said she does not see the federal government and the Ministry of Health promoting preventive measures such as wearing masks, avoiding crowds, and social distancing. She also said that “there is an effort by the Ministry of Health that contradicts science.”

“Where did he get official data showing that campaign crowds and the first round of elections had no impact on the number of cases and hospitalizations? Because the first round was 15 days ago, and we are seeing a growing increase in the number of cases and hospitalizations across several states and municipalities in the country,” said the expert.

“So, this may also be related to the first round of elections. The second round just happened. So the results of this, if there are any, will only be gauged in two or three weeks,” said the microbiologist.

Campaign and voting days

The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) implemented a set of precautionary measures during the first and second round voting days of municipal elections to ensure voting safety.

The wearing of masks was mandatory for both voters and election officials. Hand sanitizer was provided at the polling stations and voters were instructed to bring their own pens to sign the register. There was also guidance regarding distancing in lines and inside the sections.

However, during the campaign, some candidates were infected with Covid-19. One of them was the PSOL candidate for São Paulo City Hall, Guilherme Boulos. The elected mayor of Goiânia (GO), Maguito Vilela (MDB), has been hospitalized for over a month due to complications of the disease.

Pazuello was also recently diagnosed with Covid-19. He was hospitalized on October 30th and was discharged on November 1st.

Return of restrictions

Pazuello made the statement at a time when some states and cities are beginning to reconsider the relaxation of restrictions because of a new increase in Covid-19 cases.

This Wednesday, December 2nd, the whole state of São Paulo reverted from the green to the yellow phase of the flexibilization plan. Consequently, stores, shopping malls, bars, restaurants, and gyms in the capital city of São Paulo have again reduced opening times and public capacity.

The governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha on Tuesday, December 1st, published a decree restricting the opening hours of bars and restaurants. Now, establishments must close their activities at 11 PM. The announcement was made one day after the Federal District Health Secretariat alerted to a potential second wave of Covid-19.

Vaccine producers

With respect to the vaccine, Pazuello said that the majority of laboratories have insufficient delivery schedules and vaccine amounts for Brazil.

According to the Minister, there is competition among manufacturers with “very strong production, sales, and advertising”, but “it is a very different matter” when it comes to negotiating.”

“It became very clear that there are very few manufacturers with the quantity and effective delivery schedule for our country. When we reach the end of negotiations and discuss the delivery and manufacturing schedule, the numbers are dismal. Large quantities are actually reduced to one, two, three options. The majority has very low numbers for our country,” said Pazuello.

“When it comes to completing the deal, you must choose, you don’t have quite what you want, the price is not exactly that, and the quality is not exactly that”, he added, without mentioning any laboratory.

During the hearing, the Minister accepted the chance of acquiring the Pfizer pharmaceutical company’s vaccine through the Covax Facility, a consortium of countries created by the World Health Organization to ensure equitable access to a future Covid-19 vaccine.

“Brazil has joined this consortium since vaccines were first developed, with a purchase option, to receive 42 million doses, which may be from one of the ten manufacturers (participating in the Covax). Even AstraZeneca or Pfizer, for instance”, said the Minister.

Pazuello also said that the shelf life of Covid-19 tests that the government keeps in stock will be extended.

Source: G1