BRAZIL (Reuters) -Brazil set a daily record of 4,249 deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday, with overflowing hospitals running out of supplies and the Senate about to open an investigation into the government’s response to President Jair Bolsonaro, who has minimized pandemic from the beginning.
Brazil is approaching the one-day record the United States recorded on Jan. 20 of 4,405 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brazil’s outbreak is out of control, with scarce vaccines and Bolsonaro fighting the blockades.
The public health system has shown growing signs of folding under the burden of cases and a survey by the National Association of Private Hospitals (ANAHP) this week suggests that even the richest hospitals lack critical medicine.
Three out of four private hospitals said they have a week or less of supplies to treat COVID-19, including oxygen, anesthesia and essential medicines for intubation, according to the ANAHP survey conducted at 88 member hospitals across Brazil.
The Bolsonaro government has minimized the risk of hospitals running out of drugs, as the right-wing leader tries to calm fears of the virus, while being foolish by state and local efforts to restrict movements.
“We do not cry for spilled milk. We are still living in a pandemic that is, in part, used politically, not to defeat the virus, but to overthrow the president, “Bolsonaro said in a public speech on Wednesday. “In what country on earth do people not die? Unfortunately, people are dying everywhere. ”
Brazil’s Senate plans to set up a special committee next week to investigate the government’s response to the pandemic, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said.
A Supreme Court judge ruled Thursday that the Senate should proceed with the installation of the committee, which Pacheco had tried to delay despite being approved by a sufficient number of senators.
While stating 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 jeopardize the health of members as its meetings are held in person.
More than 345,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, making it the second deadliest outbreak after the United States, whose population is approximately 50% larger, at about 330 million.
Brazil’s Supreme Court also ruled Thursday that state and municipal bans on religious gatherings were legal, in a coup against Bolsonaro, which has called them an attack on religious freedom.
As Brazil suffers the worst from the pandemic, the country has become a testing ground for new vaccines.
Health regulator Anvisa on Thursday approved the fifth final phase trial of a coronavirus vaccine, giving the green light to a study by Canadian Medicago R&D Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC.
Anvisa said companies were allowed 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.
Reports by Jake Spring and Ricardo Brito in Brasilia and Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro; Additional reports by Eduardo Simoes and Tatiana Bautzer; Edited by Diane Craft and Grant McCool