Broken respirators, coffin in hallway and crowded rooms: videos show chaos at Manaus hospital | Amazon

On Friday (30), Governor Wilson Lima said that if the number of Covid-19 cases in the state does not decrease, “there is a possibility of closing everything,” referring to commerce in the state. The state’s funeral system also began to collapse and coffins are arriving by boat in the capital.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s health system continues to collapse. At the João Lúcio Hospital, the videos show overcrowded rooms, with colleagues sleeping on the floor, under the patients’ beds.

In the hallways, some visitors also sleep exposed to the virus, while families carry the dead in coffins. In one of the rooms, seven respirators are completely stopped because complementary equipment is missing.

According to this Friday (1), Amazonas registers more than 5.7 thousand cases of Covid-19, with more than 470 deaths. However, this number may be much higher due to underreporting of cases. In Manaus alone, the number of deaths from respiratory syndromes and undetermined causes recorded during the pandemic indicates that the actual number of people who died from Covid-19 may be seven times higher.

The State Health Department (Susam) admitted, by means of a note, that the number of consultations at the João Lúcio Hospital is above its capacity, due to the scenario of the pandemic. The presence of companions is not allowed in rooms with Covid-19 patients, according to the secretariat, which also reported that it will investigate whether there was a violation of the rules in the unit.

Regarding the respirators detained, Susam reported that the hospital has some unused units, but because they are old and were removed for maintenance, which depends on parts that come from outside the state. “Of the respirators shown in the images, only one is defective. The other devices shown in the video are stopped because at the moment there was no need to use them,” the note says.

Regarding the coffin inside the unit, Susam replied that this is not a permitted practice and that the administration will institute administrative procedures to find out who ordered the entry.

AM has career to avoid collapses

Due to the collapse, the Ministry of Health reported that Amazonas will be the first state to receive professionals from the ‘Brasil Conta Comigo’ program. The 581 doctors are expected to arrive in Manaus starting Sunday.

The funeral system also collapsed due to the increase in deaths. The current average burial in the capital, according to the City Council, has increased to 120, with a record burial on the 26th of this month, since the start of the pandemic.

At dawn this Friday, a shipment of 150 coffins ordered by private funeral homes arrived in Manaus by boat. The Union of Funeral Companies of Amazonas (Sefeam) says that the stock of the ballot boxes is already at the limit and they are waiting for more than 900 units to arrive in the coming days.