Alert: Circulation Restrictions Against Covid-19 Second Wave Should Be Restored

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Health Secretaries and governors of several states in Brazil claim that the second wave of Covid-19 is a fact in Brazil. And data endorse this observation.

A Fiocruz survey shows that there is an upward trend in the number of cases in at least 12 Brazilian capitals. Of this total, seven have ICU bed occupancy rates exclusive for the disease exceeding 80%, when the ideal would be for it to fall below 70%.

Health authorities believe that several states and cities will impose restrictive measures on circulation and economic activities in the coming weeks. As in Europe, these new rules should focus mainly on leisure activities, such as bars and events that produce crowds.

“Public authorities need to be attentive. The process of flexibilization was greatly flawed, as in public transportation which had no protocols to prevent crowding. It is a high-risk environment because it is closed, poorly ventilated,” explains Daniel Villela, researcher at the Covid-19 Observatory and coordinator of the Fiocruz Scientific Computing Program.

The Fiocruz researcher also notes that Brazil has never fully emerged from the first wave, despite a considerable drop in the daily average of Covid-19 cases, ranging from 20,000 to 35,000.

“In Europe, the first and second waves became much clearer. Here in Brazil the number of cases was dropping, but we never reached a low level. We are still at a high level of cases and deaths,” says Daniel Villela.

At the privately-owned Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, the number of hospitalizations of Covid-19 patients has virtually doubled in the past few weeks. Currently, approximately 95 beds are taken with people infected by the coronavirus. Other private hospitals in the capital of São Paulo and other cities are experiencing a similar situation.

The second wave of Covid has also caused overcrowding in public health centers in some capitals. In Rio de Janeiro, the ICU bed occupancy rate in public hospitals exceeds 90%.

“To a certain extent, we are observing something similar to what occurred in Europe,” says Dr. Sidney Klajner, Einstein Hospital’s chairman. “The population neglected to take protective measures against the disease, because many thought the vaccines would end the pandemic within a few months.”

States again restrict activities

Rio Grande do Sul governor Eduardo Leite said on Friday, November 27th, that the state is experiencing a second wave of coronavirus and that restrictive measures will be imposed as of next week.

“It is an alert to the entire state, along the same lines as in other Brazilian states. We are indeed experiencing a second wave of coronavirus here in Rio Grande do Sul. On Monday, November 30th, the government will meet with the federation of municipal associations and establish protocols based on this scenario we are experiencing. We will work to impact our economy as little as possible,” he said in a video published on social media.