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Brazil is going through a historic collapse of its health services due to the coronavirus.
At that time, 25 of the 27 states in this country occupied more than 80% of their intensive care units, according to a report by the Fiocruz health institute.
And in states like Rio Grande del Sur, there are no more beds available.
The collapse is a consequence of the critical moment that Brazil is going through, which on March 16 recorded its record number of deaths in a single day from covid-19.
The death toll that day was 2,841 and far exceeds the 2,286 deaths that occurred on March 10.
“Extremely critical”
“Our researchers’ analysis suggests that this is the biggest health service collapse in Brazilian history,” said Marcelo Queiroga, Brazil’s new health minister.
It is Brazil’s fourth Minister of Health since the start of the pandemic.
Upon taking office, health officials in the South American nation’s most populous state, Sao Paulo, asked him to consider imposing a nationwide shutdown given the record number of deaths on record.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been criticized for months for his policies to deal with the pandemic.
The president has consistently opposed quarantine measures introduced by various state governors, arguing that the collateral damage to the economy would be worse than the effects of the virus itself.
Confinement?
Speaking to media on Tuesday, Queiroga urged Brazilians to wear masks and wash their hands, but did not suggest the alternative of containment or further social distancing measures.
The cardiologist argues that “closures have been used in extreme situations and cannot be central government policy.”
This statement prompted a strong response from Joao Gabbardo, leader of the covid-19 emergency group in Sao Paulo.
From his Twitter account, Gabbardo noted that there was a time when private hospitals requested space in the public health system due to the demand for intensive care beds.
“When (Queiroga) assumes, face the worst numbers of the pandemic,” tweeted the expert and added that the new minister should not oppose a national quarantine.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro has questioned the dangers of the pandemic and asked the public last week to “stop complaining“for the coronavirus.
Vaccines
Brazil has the second highest number of infections and deaths in the world, behind the United States.
In total, the country has recorded more than 11.6 million confirmed infections and 282,000 deaths as of March 16 since the start of the pandemic.
The latest increase in cases is attributed to the spread of highly contagious variants of the virus.
The Brazilian government is not only faced with questions about its prevention policies. He is also criticized for the slowness of the vaccine distribution process.
Brazil has the immunization doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca and Chinese CoronaVac.
The Bolsonaro administration has also placed vaccine orders with Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and Russian Sputnik V.
However, only about 4.6% of the population received a dose.
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