“Manaus is Lost” Says Brazilian Researcher Calling for International Mission

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Faced with the collapse of the healthcare system because of the second wave of coronavirus in Manaus, epidemiologist Jesem Orellana, of Fiocruz-Amazônia, advocated the urgent sending of an international observer mission, in an alert released on Thursday, January 21st, because “it is no longer possible to rely on the various administrative levels at the forefront of the epidemic”.

In the release titled “Manaus is lost and Covid-19 exploded,” the researcher also calls for the immediate decree of a lockdown to prevent further deaths in the city.

In December, Orellana had predicted that, unless more restrictive measures were taken, Manaus would experience a new Covid surge that would result in a dramatic rise in the number of deaths. Now, after his alerts were rejected and the tragedy is confirmed, with record numbers of patients who died from lack of oxygen in the hospital, the epidemiologist says that the handling of the health crisis is “entering recent pandemic history as one of the most dramatic health and humanitarian experiences ever documented.”

“My projection that January would be the ‘month of sorrow and mourning’ has been confirmed and, as inhuman and monstrous as it may seem, in Manaus, the world capital of Covid-19, there is no sign of a lockdown,” he wrote. “This seems to be part of a project that many insist on non-recognition and in this case, Manaus is an open-air laboratory, where all kinds of negligence and atrocities are possible, with no punishment and no threat to the hegemony of those responsible.”

Orellana also points out that the 945 confirmed deaths, in the first 20 days of January alone, are now close to the total number of deaths between August and December, when 1,308 people died of Covid. The data were collected from the Amazonas Health Regulatory Foundation (FVS-AM), the official body.

According to data compiled by scientists, Manaus reported a daily average of 27 deaths at home between January 13th and 19th: “Dozens of people who died at home suffocated without medical assistance, which were left adrift by the largest parallel market for medicinal oxygen for home use,” he reported. “Many may have suffocated, causing irreversible psychological damage to relatives and loved ones.”

Orellana says it is “no longer acceptable to believe in the irrational theory of herd immunity” or “in non-existent treatments” to address the situation. He further explains that, although the vaccination campaign has begun, “its effects will only be felt in a few months, which means that, in the short term, we need timely and emergency measures.”

To do so, the scientist says that “a severe lockdown in Manaus is needed, at least 21 days long, or we will see this tragedy deepen even further.” Another measure is external inspection, he argues. “We urgently need independent international observers linked to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR), because it is no longer possible to rely on the various administrative levels at the forefront of the epidemic in Manaus”.

In an interview last week, Governor Wilson Lima (PSC) dismissed the option of implementing a full lockdown in Amazonas. “At no time did the State of Amazonas consider the option of a lockdown. This is not in our future plans. There is no possibility of a full lockdown, mainly because of our social dynamics. It would be ineffective,” he said. “This option does not cross our minds.”

On a visit to Manaus last week, Minister of Health Eduardo Pazuello mentioned “early treatment” – in practice, the use of drugs as a preventive measure against Covid-19, such as chloroquine, which have been rejected by medical and scientific bodies. Amid the health crisis, the general was expected to return to the city on Thursday.

In an event at the National Council of Municipal Health Secretaries (CONASEMS), Pazuello tried to shift the responsibility for the situation in Amazonas away from Brasília. “Everything the governor asked for has already been done,” he said. According to him, the Ministry “monitors and supports” the measures adopted by the State, but the actions are “under the responsibility of the Mayor and the Governor. They are not under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health.”

Source: Estadão Conteúdo