São Paulo Covid-19 ICU occupancy rate below 50% for first time this year

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The state of São Paulo on Monday, August 2, recorded its lowest occupancy rate in 2021 for ICUs intended for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. A total of 49.2% of beds are now in use across the state while the rate drops to 45.2% in Greater São Paulo.

The state rate is below 50% for the first time this year. In the worst moment of the pandemic in the state during the second wave, occupancy exceeded 92%.

“The decline is a reflection of strategies to fight the pandemic, particularly through vaccination,” the state health secretariat said in a press release.

At the peak of the pandemic’s second wave, cities in São Paulo reported deaths of patients waiting for an ICU bed due to overwhelmed hospitals. The shortage of sedatives also pressured health care systems throughout the first half of the year.

More than 10,100 patients are still hospitalized in the state, 5,276 in ICUs and 4,880 in wards. São Paulo totals over 4 million Covid-19 cases and 139,059 deaths during the pandemic.

According to Vaccinometer data, 22.84% of the state’s population has completed the full vaccination scheme so far. Some 79.26% of São Paulo’s adults have been administered their first dose. The easing trend in hospitals has also been noted in the rest of Brazil as immunization advances.

However, the appearance of the more transmissible Delta variant, originally detected in India, has placed specialists and authorities on alert. In Europe and the United States this new strain has halted plans to reopen economies.

Easing restrictions

A new stage of relaxation in the state of São Paulo began last Sunday, August 1. During the so-called “safe resumption” maximum occupancy of commercial establishments will be increased from 60% to 80%, and the closing time will be extended from 11 PM to midnight.

The state government estimates that restrictions should be completely lifted from August 17, maintaining only mask use and a minimum distance of 1 meter between people.