Neither the entry of tougher containment measures, the calls for self-care, nor a fourth Health Minister assigned by Jair Bolsonaro, the president most reluctant to take the risks of covid-19 in South America, they have not stopped a new wave of contagion in Brazil which is cruelly and constantly hitting mainly hospitals, where they are already in collapse in the face of the daily admission of new coronavirus cases.
means like CNN have already reported that until Sunday, in 21 states and the federal district, the employment rate in intensive care units (ICUs) was over 80 percent, of this same number there are 14 who are on the verge of collapse at the time they already they have an occupancy of over 90 per cent.
The hospital situation is not easy, even more so when supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have staged a series of protests against local authorities in recent days. Among these cases are Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Belo Horizonte, where restrictive measures imposed by regional governments to curb the covid-19 pandemic have been implemented.
It is precisely in Sao Paulo where the rapid increase in hospitalizations for covid-19 forced the government of this state to move from the so-called “red phase” of its confinement plan to an “emergency phase”, Even more rigid, although without reaching the end of the quarantine applied in some European countries.
In this new, more restrictive stage, Sao Paulo suspended collective religious and sports activities, closed building materials stores and banned access to beaches, which had seen a large influx of people in the last weeks.
Also, the governor of Sao Paulo, Joao Doria, announced on Monday a new field hospital in the state capital that will have 180 new beds, Of which 50 will be intensive care.
Doria again charged harshly against far-right President Bolsonaro, whom he called a “denialist” and “death myth” for his questionable management of the pandemic.
“Brazil became a global shame (…) the country it became a threat to the health of the world and we, the Brazilians, are paying the bill, “he reiterated.
In absolute numbers, Sao Paulo, the economic engine and most populous region of Brazil, with 46 million inhabitants, is the state of the country hardest hit by the covid-19, accounting for 2.2 million infections and 64 thousand 123 disease-related deaths.
Sao Paulo has recently surpassed its maximum death toll and is dangerously close to the collapse of its public hospitals, which have nearly 90 percent of intensive care beds occupied.
This aggravation of the pandemic coincides with the circulation of new, more transmissible variants, among them 1 first detected in Brazil, Referred to as P.1 by specialists.
The fourth Minister of Health in less than a year
Bolsonaro yesterday appointed cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga as Minister of Health, the fourth in less than a year, at a time when the health system is on the verge of collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic that it has already left 11,500,000 cases and nearly 278,000 dead by covid-19.
“It was decided this afternoon to appoint Dr. Marcelo Queiroga for the Ministry of Health,” Bolsonaro told his supporters in front of the Alborada Palace, his residence in Brasilia.
Precisely on this same day, the president criticized the policies of restricting the movement and hinted to his followers that he is studying measures to resolve the situation.
“They can be sure that whatever can be done legally, I will do it. We will briefly have the consequences of what is happening, stay calm,” Bolsonaro told the group, which participated in a rally in favor of the president. and against the measures for the closure of services in Brasília.
This speech by the Brazilian president was made while medical centers report to CNN an attention to “132 percent occupancy,” as is the case with Hospital das Clinicas de Porto Alegre, in the south of the nation.
The situation in the north is not very different either, there are medical services that already reach 97 percent of their capacity for care. Along with this, there are also reports of lack of oxygen for patients requiring coronavirus-assisted breathing.
In one of his last speeches as Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, managed to report yesterday the purchase of 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, although these will be delivered by September, which add to a slow plan of inoculation against covid-19 that is leading the country more large in population and territory throughout South America.
OMZI
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