Paraguayan Infectious Diseases Society has demanded closure of borders with Brazil due to dizzying advance of COVID-19 variant in Manaus

Alarmed by the collapse of Brazil, the Paraguayan Society of Infectious Diseases has expressed concern over free transit from Paraguay to Brazil. Paraguay yesterday started a new strict quarantine that will last throughout Holy Week, until Sunday April 4, but has not closed the border limits.

In a statement, infectologists argue that Brazil is the current epicenter of the pandemic, concentrates 25% of all deaths from Covid-19 globally, and also has the capacity to create new, more contagious and deadly variants resistant to natural immunity or vaccines. Therefore, they consider “utter nonsense” and “neglect” to keep the border with Brazil open and they demand the temporary closure of all border crossings with the neighboring country.

“With helplessness, we see how the predictions of international organizations such as the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) on the number of deaths are fulfilled with almost mathematical precision and without signs that allow us some optimism” , indicates the letter. .

Migration Director Ángeles Arriola explained that they had decided that the borders would remain open on the recommendation of the General Directorate of Health Surveillance, headed by Dr Guillermo Sequera. The government advisory epidemiologist warned that closing the crossing would not change the circulation of the Brazilian variant, but the Paraguayan Society of Infectious Diseases rejected the analysis. For the Association of Experts, the authorities must immediately rectify and close all stages.

They warn that more than a year after the pandemic, deaths in Brazil are at their peak and the mutation first discovered in the city of Manaus in the west of the country is responsible for the dramatic increase in infections.

In fact, The country’s other neighbors are slamming their doors: Peru, Colombia and Argentina have already suspended their flights, and only two of the ten main countries of destination for Brazilians are still open to them.

“If Brazil is not taken seriously, it will continue to affect the entire neighborhood there and beyond,” warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization.

The Brazilian variant, strain p.1, is terrifying because it can be more contagious than previous versions and able to re-infect people. Studies suggest it could be up to twice as transmissible and re-infect 25 to 61% of people who have had COVID-19.

“Seriousness is rare”, he denounced The Economist to explain why mismanagement of the pandemic in Brazil is a threat to the world. “Jair Bolsonaro proclaimed cures for healers, attacked blockades and tried to prevent the release of data. He has just sacked the third Minister of Health (an army general) since the start of the pandemic. Vaccines are not for him, Bolsonaro said. Your government has been slow to ask for them, despite the fact that manufacturers like Pfizer and Janssen have tested them in Brazil, ”accused the publication in a concise analysis of the crisis management by the Brazilian government.

Paraguay, por su parte, superó este sábado los 4,000 fallecidos por coronavirus desde el comienzo de la pandemia, tras registrar 45 muertes en las últimas horas, con a total of 4,003 personas muertas a consecuencia del virus, según informó el Ministerio de Salud en su daily report. The health portfolio has also confirmed 1,893 new cases, totaling 206,597 positive since March 2020. In addition, 2,170 people are hospitalized, including 423 in intensive care.

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