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SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazil reported a 24-hour tally of COVID-19 deaths exceeding 4,000 for the first time on Tuesday, becoming the third country to exceed this daily threshold.
Many governors, mayors and judges are reopening parts of the economy despite the continuing chaos in overcrowded hospitals and the collapse of the health system in several parts of the country.
Brazil’s health ministry said 4,195 deaths had been counted in the past 24 hours, with the country’s pandemic toll rapidly approaching 340,000, the second highest in the world. Only the United States and Peru have recorded a daily death toll of over 4,000.
The state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in Brazil with 46 million inhabitants, has recorded nearly 1,400 deaths according to the latest count. Health officials said that figure was in part due to the Easter holidays, which delayed the count.
Local authorities across the country say the number of cases and hospitalizations is dropping after a week of partial shutdown.
Miguel Lago, executive director of the Brazilian Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials, said reopening was a mistake he fears will lead to yet more deaths higher, although he thinks it is unlikely to be reversed.
“The point is, President Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-lockdown speech has won,” Lago told The Associated Press. this.”
Bolsonaro, who has long played down the risks of the coronavirus, remains totally against lockdowns because they are damaging to the economy.
COVID-19 patients use more than 90% of intensive care unit beds in most Brazilian states, although numbers have been stable since last week. Yet hundreds of people are dying while waiting for care, and basic supplies such as oxygen and sedatives are running out in several states.
Less than 3% of the 210 million Brazilians have received the two doses of the coronavirus vaccine, according to Our World in Data, an online research site.
Over the weekend, justices of the Supreme Court of Brazil launched a standoff over the reopening of religious buildings, which were closed by many local authorities despite the federal government’s decision to label them as part of essential services.
Some churches welcomed their worshipers on Easter Sunday, but others were stopped by mayors and governors. Their reopening will be settled at the High Court on Wednesday, but some local councils, such as Belo Horizonte, voted on Tuesday to keep religious buildings open.
Also on Tuesday, a judge in Rio de Janeiro authorized the reopening of schools as requested by mayor Eduardo Paes. Hours later, the mayors of Campinas and Sorocaba, two of the most populous cities in the state of Sao Paulo, agreed to reopen their activities with a drive-thru system after a 10-day hiatus.
Professional football leaders in Sao Paulo said they plan to play games this week after a 15-day hiatus, promising local prosecutors they will follow more stringent health protocols.
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