Brazil’s Health Minister Admits Covid-19 Case Surge

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil recorded 37,614 new cases and 691 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours and now totals 6,204,220 infections and 171,460 deaths from the disease. The country has been experiencing an increase in contagion in several locations in recent weeks, as shown by data on hospitalizations for severe acute respiratory syndrome and even reported cases.

According to Imperial College London this week, the country has reached its highest transmission rate since May. On Thursday, Minister of Health Eduardo Pazuello for the first time accepted the rising trend of the pandemic in several places in Brazil. The Minister referred to the increase of cases as “new peaks” and refrained from talking about a second wave, a term that to him would be more closely related to the consequences of interrupting health care during the pandemic.

“We are talking about new peaks of infections and deaths in some regions of the country, yes,” the Minister conceded, considering that this increase is more extensive in the South and Southeast regions. Pazuello, who seldom gives interviews or participates in press conferences, briefly addressed the pandemic during an event on prematurity at the Ministry of Health.

“Waves should not be confused with a new outbreak, which is occurring in Europe, with a mutated virus. There, it is a new outbreak, that could become endemic and then pandemic. And it can be confused with the waves of the first one”, said the Minister.

However, biomedical doctor Mellanie Fontes-Dutra explains that what is currently known about the novel coronavirus variants does not suggest that they are the cause of the new increase of infections in European countries. Nor would they affect the vaccines currently in development, says the researcher.

Regarding the Covid-19 resources that have not yet been allocated by the Ministry of Health, Pazuello said they will be invested in the installations of as many Covid-19 ICUs as possible, in the resumption of care and surgeries not performed because they were impacted and in the Covid-19 immunization plan.

“This will allow Brazil to greatly step up care,” he explained. Some parts of the country, such as Rio de Janeiro, already see their healthcare system under heavy pressure due to the pandemic, with occupancy rates above 90%.

The Minister also emphasized the expertise of the country’s National Immunization Program. He claimed that Covid-19 immunization is only one of several programs the plan covers. “We are doing this with calm, with ten sector groups working, listening to everyone. .You can rest assured. We are ahead of the time, we are ahead of schedule.”

“Once we have the logistical data for the vaccines, we will close the plan. The logic is the same as any of our plans: to study the target groups, to study the most affected regions. All this is being conducted naturally,” he said, with no details of decisions that may have already been taken by the portfolio. According to the Minister, the priority groups phase is now ready.

Source: El País