A report by the state-run Fiocruz Institute on Tuesday warned that Brazil was experiencing an overload and even collapse of health systems due to rising COVID-19 cases as the country set a new coronavirus death record.
Send the news: According to the institute, more than 80% of the intensive care units are occupied in 25 of the 27 capitals of Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, 93% of the ICU beds are occupied and Brasília has only 3% available. The cities of Campo Grande (106%) and Porto Alegre (102%) exceeded capacity.
- The Brazilian Ministry of Health reported 1,972 deaths due to the coronavirus and 70,764 new cases on Tuesday.
For the record: According to Johns Hopkins, the country has the second highest number of deaths (268,370) after the coronavirus (527,643) after the US.
- It reported the third highest number of cases in the world – more than 11.1 million since the pandemic began.
What they say: Fiocruz’s epidemiologist Jesem Orellana told AFP that the “fight against COVID-19 was lost in 2020” and that in the first half of this year “there is not the slightest chance of reversing these tragic circumstances.
- “The best we can do is hope for the miracle of mass vaccination or a drastic change in the management of the pandemic,” he added.
- “Today, Brazil is a threat to humanity and an open-air laboratory where impunity appears to be in management.”
Remarkable: President Jair Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly underestimated the virus, said last week that Brazilians should stop “whining” about the pandemic and leave the house, despite the stay-at-home orders issued by local authorities via Reuters.