San Pablo begins total shutdown to stop coronavirus infections

The state of São Paulo, the richest and most populous in Brazil, returned this Saturday to the “red phase” of restrictions to prevent the collapse of hospitals in the deadliest period of the pandemic in the country.

The maximum alert phase will last until March 19 across the state of 46 million people.

The streets of Brazil’s economic capital were virtually empty of cars and pedestrians due to the closure to the public of parks, bars, restaurants, museums and shops deemed non-essential, according to the AFP news agency.

The only things that work are the areas of health, food and public transport, considered essential, such as schools and churches, as long as you follow health protocols.

Last Wednesday, Governor Joao Doria announced the measure given the dramatic increase in cases and deaths across the country, the second with the most deaths, behind the United States.

A day earlier, the state had broken the 24-hour death record: 468.

Global figures show São Paulo is the one with the highest number of deaths (61,064) and cases (nearly 2.1 million) since the start of the pandemic.

But it is less affected in relative terms than the other states, with 133 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants against 194 in Rio de Janeiro and 270 in the Amazon.

Its hospital network has been experiencing the period of greatest pressure for a year, with at least 100% occupancy of beds in the intensive care units of 19 public centers.

Quarantine

Other states and municipalities across the country, including Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Rio Grande do Sul, have reinstated quarantine measures, with restrictions ranging from total closure of non-essential activities to time limits and covers. -night lights.

The WHO itself warned on Friday that the health situation in Brazil “is very serious”.

The weekly average of deaths has exceeded 1,000 since January 20, for the first time since August 2020, and has exceeded 1,400 since yesterday.

Experts say the rebound is the result of a lack of social distancing during the holiday season and summer and carnival crowds, despite the latter being strictly banned.

Some studies also point to the new variant of the Amazon coronavirus, called P.1, which is twice as contagious, already detected in 17 states and causing a global alarm.

Added to this is the anti-quarantine campaign of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, which from the start prevented a national strategy for protection against the coronavirus, and a vaccination campaign that started late and suffered delays due to the lack of doses and logistical problems. .

So far, 7.9 million Brazilians (3.7% of the population) have been vaccinated and only 2.6 million of them with the second dose.

A total of 10.9 million people have contracted the virus in Brazil, of which 263,000 have died.