Brazil nears 13 million coronavirus cases at worst time of pandemic in country

Brazil recorded 31,359 cases of covid-19 as of Sunday in the past 24 hours, As a result, the total number of cases has risen to 12,984,956 since the start of the pandemic., the government said on Sunday.

According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, 1240 deaths were recorded on the last day, while the cumulative number of deaths reached 331,433.

The number of coronavirus cases and deaths reported on the last day is the lowest for the whole week. However, authorities reiterated that the numbers tend to be lower on weekends due to the lack of staff to record the data.

The average number of daily infections over the past 7 days has fallen to 64,324, after peaking at 77,000 at the end of March. The average number of deaths, meanwhile, fell to 2,747, after exceeding 3,000 per day.

According to the bulletin, the death rate is 157.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the incidence is 6,179 per 100,000 inhabitants.

After the restriction measures imposed in recent weeks by the authorities in various cities of the country, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the epidemiological curve has recorded a slight decrease, even if specialists fear a new rebound after Easter.

Despite the decrees issued by governors and mayors to restrict the movement of people, a judge of the Supreme Court of Brazil authorized the celebration of masses and services throughout the country this Easter Sunday, despite the critical situation of the pandemic.

The worsening health crisis also coincides with the slowness of the vaccination process in Brazil due to the lack of available doses.

In this sense, the director of the Butantan Institute, the largest manufacturer of covid-19 vaccines in Brazil, Dimas Covas, warned that the next 15 days will be dramatic in the Latin American giant.

“We are at a time when the transmission speed is still very high. April is going to be a dramatic month for Brazil ”, Covas said in an interview with the daily Valor Economico.

According to the doctor, the South American nation is heading towards 4,000 daily deaths from covid-19 and could break the tragic barrier of 5,000 deaths per day.

In the megalopolis of São Paulo, the most affected by the disease in deaths and infections, the number of burials increased by 60% in March compared to the same month of 2020. This is data provided by the municipal funeral home, which takes into account both public and private cemeteries, as well as crematoriums.

Not only that: one of the largest cemeteries in the city of 12 million people, Nova Cachoeirinha, has suspended all burials due to lack of space. This was denounced by the Union of Municipal Public Administration Workers (Sindsep), according to which “old graves more than 3 years old must be exhumed to create new ones”.

For its part, More than 500 patients have died in this state since the start of the pandemic while awaiting a place in intensive care. According to a count made by the informative site G1, the total number of covid-19 patients who have died for lack of beds in intensive care rooms in the most affected state of Brazil has been 507 since the start of the health emergency.. Of these, 271 were registered in the capital and a further 236 in the rest of the state.

There are currently 709 Covid-19 patients waiting for intensive care beds in the country’s richest and most advanced state, this source revealed.

With information from EFE and ANSA

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