Brazil recorded more than 1,300 deaths from COVID-19 for fifth day in a row

Brazil followed five days this Saturday with more than 1,300 daily deaths from covid, bringing the total number of deaths to nearly 255,000, at a time when the pandemic has semi-crippled the country due to the intensity of a more virulent second wave, the government reported.

Brazil, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus, has recorded 1,386 deaths in the past 24 hours and added a total of 254,221 deaths, according to the bulletin released today by the health ministry.

Over the past five days, the number of deaths has remained above 1,300: 1386 Tuesday, 1428 Wednesday, 1541 Thursday, 1337 Friday and 1386 Saturday.

The number of infections also remains high and since the previous day, 61,302 new infections have been recorded, bringing the total number of people infected in the country to 10,517,232.

For more than a month, the average of covid deaths in the country has exceeded 1,000 per day and that of infections has been close to 50,000, figures which put half the country in critical condition, since the health system of 13 27 states are threatening to collapse and intensive care units (ICUs) are on the verge of overflowing their capacity.

In the worst-affected regions, which have been forced to tighten restrictions, nighttime curfews and store closures predominate.

The figures confirm Brazil, with its 210 million inhabitants, as the second country in the world with the most deaths, after the United States, and the third with the most infections, behind the country of America North and India.

With the increase in deaths and cases on Saturday, the death rate from the disease in the country reached 121 deaths per 100,000 population, while the incidence rose to 5,004 infected per 100,000 population. The death rate from the disease in Brazil has remained at 2.4% of the total population.

However, of the total infected, 9,386,440 people have already recovered, corresponding to 89.2% of those infected, while 876,571 others are still under medical surveillance (8.38% of the total).

A test to detect the Brazilian variant

Brazil finalizes the launch of a PCR test that will specifically detect whether a person has been infected with the new variant of the coronavirus originating in the state of Amazonas, more contagious and known as P.1, medical sources reported on Friday.

PCR is developed by the Institut de Tropical Medicine of the University of São Paulo (USP), and with it, one expects to discover the real impact of the new Brazilian variant in the population of the country, at a time when the pandemic is experiencing a serious worsening.

“We hope it will be ready and validated by the end of next week.and let’s start applying it on a large scale to get an idea of ​​the prevalence of P.1, ”he told the agency. EFE Dr José Eduardo Levi, researcher at the Institute of Tropical Medicine at USP.

This new test will make it possible to know more quickly than with genetic sequencing, whether or not an individual has been infected with the Amazon variant, which is up to “three times” more contagious, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Brazilian variant was first detected by Japanese health authorities on January 9, after analyzing the samples of four passengers who arrived in Tokyo from Amazonas, in northern Brazil.

With information from EFE

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