Brazil’s capitals with over 90% ICU occupancy drops to 10, from 22

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – There were 16 capitals, along with the Federal District, with ICU capacity at critical levels last week. In early April, this number reached 22 of the 27 cities.

After a rise in demand, the new severe cases of coronavirus are starting to show clearer signs of slowing down in the country: this week, the total of Brazilian capitals with over 90% of public beds occupied with Covid-19 patients fell to 10 last Monday, May 3rd, according to a survey conducted by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo with state governments.

There were 16 capitals, along with the Federal District, with ICU capacity at critical levels last week. In early April, this number reached 22 of the 27 cities.

The news is even better in João Pessoa and Boa Vista, where over half of beds are available for new patients infected by the novel coronavirus. At the opposite end, Campo Grande and Aracaju remain overwhelmed, with all ICUs occupied.

Belém is the capital with the largest percentage drop in demand for ICUs in a one-week interval, from 83% to 60%, followed by Rio Branco and Florianópolis.

In the metropolitan region of Belém, the downward trend in hospitalizations observed in recent weeks continues, and ICU occupancy fell to 60% on Monday, May 3rd, notwithstanding the reduction of 57 beds in state hospitals.

Acre experienced a significant drop in occupancy, from 82% to 69% of a total of 106 existing ICU beds. Rio Branco, consequently, plummeted from 94% to 75%.

After a month registering a decline in the number of new cases, Porto Alegre saw the volume of Covid-19 hospitalizations plummet in recent weeks. Despite the addition of beds, the ICU occupancy rate fell from 81% to 75% in 7 days.

The downward trend is repeated in Florianópolis, where ICU occupancy fell from 90% to 73% in one week. The line for beds was also eliminated in the capital of Santa Catarina.

Interim governor Daniela Reinehr attributes the numbers to the increased rate of vaccination in the state. Over the past 3 weeks, the dose administration rate has increased by 75%.

Despite the positive scenario in the capital, throughout the state, the rate of ICU occupancy still stands at 92%. The percentage also reflects the disabling of beds – last week, the government disabled 18.

There was still a line for ICUs this Monday in the state, with 28 people, but as superintendent Ramon Tartari pointed out, in practice, there are beds for everyone.

“The requests keep appearing in the reports, because not all patients are recommended for inter-hospital transfer, due to clinical condition, family refusal or because they are fully assisted in ventilatory support beds in large hospitals not warranting the transfer,” he explained.

On the opposite end, the situation is still critical in Mato Grosso do Sul, where hospital beds have been closed and the units are overcrowded, with an ICU occupancy rate of 101%, because some institutions have set up improvised beds. There were still 40 patients waiting for a bed.

In Campo Grande, the rate is even higher, 106% of ICU occupancy and 27 patients in line.

Sergipe is still in a worrisome situation. The state has 98% of its 233 public intensive care beds full and 36 people in line for transfer, while the capital is completely full. On the other hand, the private network, which had been registering more patients than available beds, has experienced some relief.

In Pernambuco, despite the continuous opening of ICU beds for patients with Covid-19 symptoms, the occupancy rate remains at 97%. Last week, the line for patients waiting to access a bed in health care units increased from 40 to 79 people.

The occupancy rate in ICU beds in the state has been equal to or higher than 90% since February 26th. There are 1,602 critically ill patients in the hospital receiving intensive care. This is the highest number since the pandemic began.

According to the rolling average, which takes into account two-week interval data, the state has reached the number of 80 daily confirmed deaths.

In Ceará, with the commissioning of 34 new ICU beds last week, occupancy rate dropped from 97% to 95%. The waiting list has decreased from 380 to 270 patients.

Rio de Janeiro still registers over 80% occupancy in the state (from 82% to 86% last week) and over 90% in the capital (from 96% to 94%). On Monday, the Rio de Janeiro line for beds rose after a 6-day drop, totaling 126 people.

In Rio Grande do Norte, the occupancy rate increased from 91.6% to 93.7%, but with 5 beds less than the total shown last week in the state panel, considering occupied and available beds.

In Palmas, where 6 of the 189 ICU beds existing in the Covid-19 reference hospitals are still blocked for lack of supplies, the occupancy rate of active beds stood at 90% last Monday and one person was waiting in line for a bed. In the General Hospital of Palmas, the largest in the state, there was only one ICU bed available.

Among the capitals with the most comfortable Covid treatment situation are João Pessoa and Boa Vista. In Paraíba, the ICU bed occupancy rate increased from 53% to 55% – the state data include adult, pediatric and obstetrics beds.

The management João Azevêdo (Cidadania) also states that there is an interruption in the growth of occupation of adult ICU beds, statewide. “Paraíba, in addition to registering the second lowest occupancy rate of adult ICU beds in the country, presents a sustained progression of improvement in its hospital occupancy rates for Covid-19,” said the Executive Secretary of Health, Daniel Beltrammi.

In Boa Vista, which concentrates the 90 ICU beds in Roraima, the ICU occupancy rate varied little over the past 7 days, rising to 44% last Monday. The state has no patients waiting in line for a bed.

In the state of São Paulo, the Covid-19 ICU bed occupancy rates were dropping at the start of this week.

On Monday, it reached 78.25% -10,107 people with the disease confirmed or suspected were admitted to intensive care. Seven days ago, there were 10,426 (variation of -3.06%). If the two dates are compared, there was a 1.8% drop.

The scenario in Greater São Paulo is similar: 76.3% intensive care occupancy and no change in the rate compared to the preceding week -82%, in the capital city. On May 3rd, 1,136 people were admitted to ICUs, according to data from the Municipal Health Secretariat.

The city government delivered 40 new ICU beds. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the capital has expanded the care network with more than 900 ICU beds to fight the pandemic, totaling 1,453, up from 507 before the pandemic.

On Monday, in the city of São Paulo, 71 requests for ICU beds were being coordinated by the vacancies management center of the São Paulo municipality.

The Covid-19 bed occupancy rate in the Federal District stood at 81.9% on Tuesday, May 4th. In total, there are 481 beds available by the Federal District government, 64 of which are vacant.

The Federal District Government announced that 1 of the 3 field hospitals to treat Covid- 19 patients will be opened to the population on Friday, May 7th. Initially, it was announced that each hospital would have 100 intensive treatment beds. However, they will be intensive care unit (ICU) beds.

In 2 of the Midwest capitals, ICU bed occupancy fell again this week when compared to last week. In Goiânia, the rate dropped from 69% to the current 64% and, according to the Health Secretariat, the city still has no patients on the waiting list.

The rate is better than the 80% average in Goiás, but it still dropped when compared to last week, when the intensive care bed occupancy stood at 90%.

In Cuiabá, the index dropped 3 percentage points and now occupancy stands at 88%, also with no waiting list. The rate of ICU beds in use in the capital is in line with the state average, which fell from 91% to 87.5% this week.