The Brazilian government has received strong criticism for its treatment of the crisis. Last week, Supreme Court Judge Ricardo Lewandowski ordered the government to present a response plan to address oxygen shortages, citing the administration’s “omissive behavior” in Jair Bolsonaro’s case. addressing the emergency.
He also points out that the Amazon local government did not report to federal authorities about the upcoming oxygen shortage. “The Ministry of Health … found out on January 8 (January 8) via an email sent by the product manufacturer,” the report states. The provider, referred to in the report as White Martins, first notified the Amazon state government and then the federal authorities, according to the report.
It is unclear why an oxygen contractor was allegedly left with notification of the oxygen deficit to the federal government. According to the Attorney General’s report, the Manaus health department was aware that the city’s health system was on the verge of collapsing since early January.
City of Manaus officials did not respond to a request for comment from CNN.
A spokesman for an Amazon state government told CNN that they would provide “clarifications” to the attorney general’s office and added that the state continues to work to mitigate the crisis, including “transporting oxygen from other states to Manaus, the installation of mini oxygen in hospitals, the transfer of patients to get help in other states and the requisitioning of all production from local oxygen suppliers. “
But the Attorney General’s report raises questions about why the federal health ministry was unable to help prevent the collapse of Manaus ’health care system after receiving prior warning. Ministry officials traveled to Manaus in early January and Pazuello visited the city in person from 11 to 13 January.
The next day a disaster struck the city’s hospitals. On January 14, Amazon state officials announced that Manaus hospitals and emergencies were facing a paralyzing oxygen shortage, amid high Covid-19 cases. “We are facing a lot of difficulties in getting medical supplies. And because everyone is following it, now our main difficulty has been getting oxygen,” Governor Wilson Lima told reporters.
Although the Brazilian air force responded by providing emergency supplies of liquid and gaseous oxygen, shortages continue. Logistical problems have exacerbated the crisis, as Manaus supplies mainly enter the city via the Amazon River. There is only one highway outside the city, which connects it with the neighboring state of Amapá.
The Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, has defended the response of his agency. “We took action immediately,” he told a news conference in Brasilia on Monday. “There were no signs of lack of oxygen from our meetings in early January. The increase in cases was very rapid,” he said.
“When we [visited Manaus] turned on [January] 4, the problem was not oxygen. The problem was the structure of the bed, the number of patients with Covid-19, the queues, ”Pazuello also said.
The appointment of Bolsonaro de Pazuello, a former military commander, to head the Ministry of Health has been harshly criticized by the opponent, as the death toll from Covid-19 in Brazil remains the second highest in the world, only behind that of the United States.
Bolsonaro himself rejected any responsibility for the city’s lethal crisis. “There is a problem in Manaus … We mourn the deaths from suffocation, lack of oxygen and people blaming the government. We have allocated billions to the states, but those responsible for the lack of drugs are the state and the municipal health secretaries, “he told supporters Monday.
His statement followed Vice President Hamilton Mourão’s statement last week that no one could predict the collapse of the city’s health system.
“It is impossible to predict what would happen to this (virus) strain that is occurring in Manaus. Totally different from what had happened in the first half,” Mourão said.