BRAZIL (Reuters) – Brazil on Thursday set a daily record of 4,249 deaths from COVID-19, with overwhelming hospitals short of supplies, and the Senate would investigate the reaction of the government of President Jair Bolsonaro, what the pandemic from the beginning.
Brazil is approaching the one-day record set by the United States on January 20 of 4,405 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak of Brazil is getting out of control, with shortages of vaccinations and Bolsonaro locking up.
The public health care system is showing increasing signs of bending under the effects, and a survey by the National Association of Private Hospitals (ANAHP) this week suggests that even the richest hospitals are short of critical medicine.
Three out of four private hospitals said they have a week or less of stock for COVID-19 treatment, including oxygen, anesthesia and essential medicines for intubation, according to the ANAHP survey among 88 member hospitals in Brazil.
Bolsonaro’s government has curtailed the risk of hospitals running out of medicine as the right-wing leader tries to allay fears of the virus while opposing state and local efforts to curb movement.
‘Let’s not cry over spilled milk. We are still undergoing a pandemic that is being used partly politically – not to defeat the virus, but to destroy the president, ‘Bolsonaro said in a public speech on Wednesday. “In what land on earth do people not die? Unfortunately, people are dying everywhere. ”
The Brazilian Senate plans to convene a special committee next week to investigate the government’s response to the pandemic, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said.
A Supreme Court judge on Thursday ruled that the Senate should proceed with the installation of the committee, which Pacheco tried to postpone even though he had already been approved by a sufficient number of senators.
While declaring that he would comply with the court order, Pacheco said it was too early to investigate while Brazil was still dealing with the crisis and that the committee would endanger the health of members as the meetings were held in person.
More than 345,000 people have died in Brazil from COVID-19, making it the second deadliest outbreak to the United States, with about 330 million inhabitants.
The Brazilian Supreme Court also ruled Thursday that state and municipal bans on religious gatherings are legal, in a nod to Bolsonaro, who calls them an attack on religious freedom.
As Brazil suffers the worst from the pandemic, the country has become a test site for new vaccines.
Health regulator Anvisa on Thursday approved the fifth trial for a late-stage coronavirus vaccine, easing a study by Canadian Medicago R&D Inc and GlaxoSmithKline PLC.
Anvisa said the companies are authorized to conduct Phase 3 trials in Brazil. The companies are recruiting about 3,500 Brazilian volunteers for the study, which will include about 30,000 people, in the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America.
Reporting by Jake Spring and Ricardo Brito in Brasilia and Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro; Additional reporting by Eduardo Simoes and Tatiana Bautzer; Edited by Diane Craft and Grant McCool