Covid-19 Hospitalizations in Manaus in Nine Days Exceed All of December

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Between January 1st and 9th this year, 1,524 new Covid-19 hospitalizations were registered in the capital of Amazonas. The state is experiencing a new outbreak of the disease, and its hospitals are full. The figure exceeds the total number of hospitalizations registered during the month of December last year, when 1,371 people were hospitalized with the disease.

The city is experiencing a new outbreak of Covid-19, with an increase in cases, overcrowded hospitals and cemeteries. By Saturday, January 9th, over 212,000 people had been infected with the novel coronavirus throughout Amazonas, and over 5,600 have died from the disease.

On Saturday, the state once again broke the daily record of hospitalizations: 235, the highest figure registered in the state since the start of the pandemic. Of this total, 228 new hospitalizations occurred in Manaus alone.

Amazonas is once again experiencing chaos

Amazonas currently registers over 212,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases. The total number of deaths exceeds 5.600. Governor Wilson Lima announced that the public healthcare network is at its limits and will start the process of reopening the Nilton Lins Field Hospital, but failed to provide a date. The Nilton Lins Field Hospital operated between April and July last year, at the peak of the pandemic.

Since the last weeks of December, the state has been registering an increase in the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths by Covid-19. Given the spread of Covid-19 in Amazonas, the state entered the purple phase of the pandemic, which is considered by the Health Monitoring Foundation (FVS) the stage with the highest rate of transmission of the disease.

As for the vaccine, the government reported that there is an immunization plan for the population. However, there is still no estimate of when vaccination will begin.

The mayor of Manaus announced on Thursday, January 7th, that he is negotiating the purchase of 700,000 doses of the vaccine produced by AstraZeneca to fight Covid-19 in the capital. However, dates have not been defined and details about the immunization plan have not been provided.