Several Brazilian States Show Covid-19 Is Once Again Rising

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Five states are experiencing a new coronavirus outbreak. Amapá, Amazonas, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Roraima have reported a rise in the number of deaths in the past seven days, compared to the average of the two preceding weeks, according to a G1 survey. In Brazil, deaths by coronavirus dropped by two percent in the same period.

Rio and Roraima record the highest death rates per 100,000 inhabitants, 105.7 and 105.2, respectively, according to the Ministry of Health data. Rio residents also face an aggravating factor: the hospital bed occupancy rate stands at 79 percent. If the number of cases continues to grow, the state may suffer a hospital breakdown.

Despite the alarming numbers, the acting governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro (in office after Wilson Witzel’s removal), maintains the opening plan. On Wednesday, September 23rd, he issued a decree authorizing the presence of fans in soccer stadiums.

Clubs are required to respect the maximum capacity of 30 percent of the total stadium capacity, with a distance of at least two meters between people, except family groups. In addition, the wearing of face masks, temperature checks, and screening of respiratory symptoms when accessing the stadium will be mandatory, as well as the supply of 70 percent sanitizer gel to all the fans present.

In Amazonas, the stance has been different. Governor Wilson Lima is considering closing bars, beaches, concert halls, and limiting restaurant operating hours. “Our Health Regulatory Foundation experts do not expect a second wave and an explosion of cases, because we are reassured by the state public network regarding Covid-19,” said the governor, in an interview with CBN radio.

In Roraima, deaths have doubled in the past week. The State now records 637 deaths and 49,681 cases, for a population of 631,181 people, according to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) data.

Brazilian scenario

In Brazil, the daily rolling average of deaths by Covid-19, which records the last seven days’ fluctuations and excludes distortions between a high midweek and low weekend figure, stood at 697 on Saturday, September 26th. In the past 24 hours, Brazil has recorded 25,536 new cases and 732 deaths.

In all, there are 4,718,115 people infected and 141,441 deaths from coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to data from the media outlets consortium comprising Estadão, G1, O Globo, Extra, Folha, and UOL, and conducted jointly with the state Health Secretariats.

On Saturday, São Paulo recorded cumulative figures of 35,063 deaths and 970,888 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus – the highest numbers in the country.

Source: Exame