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Isolated in the Atlantic, more than 540 km from the mainland, Fernando de Noronha already lived in natural isolation. But that did not prevent this island of just over three thousand inhabitants from registering 28 contaminated people in the archipelago (17 men and 11 women). Today, the Noronha Administration confirmed that the last four suspected cases were ruled out and that the island is free of covid-19.
In the evaluation of the president of the District Health Council, Antônio Gomes de Morais Júnior, this is mainly due to the high adherence of the population to the blockade implemented on April 20. Fernando de Noronha registered his first case of coronavirus on March 27.
“It is much easier to control [a circulação de pessoas]Because we only have the port and the airport as a gateway, “says Junior. Since then, the population has lived in total isolation.
Blocking
In addition to closing beaches and shopping, the government of Pernambuco also prohibits departures without prior authorization, which must be requested through a form by cell phone. According to state decree 48.973, beaches remain without public access and commercial establishments remain closed until May 15. Exceptions are markets, pharmacies, and supply stores.
Fernando de Noronha Airport has also been closed since early April, even for regular residents outside the island.
“We have to continue with all the responsibility of having reached this state. We still cannot let our guard down, because the virus can enter again and new cases appear on the island,” warns Antônio Gomes.
Future of tourism
The local business community begins to discuss the economic future of this destination in which 95% of the population survives on tourism. “Without it, the island will not survive,” says Antônio Gomes de Morais Júnior, who is also an entrepreneur at Fernando de Noronha.
For Regina Brizolara, a specialist in the Ministry of Health in the area of communicable disease surveillance, it is necessary to better understand the behavior of the virus in Noronha, where around 80% of cases of the disease are asymptomatic.
“To be 100% sure, we need a study that also guides the right time to open the archipelago’s economic and social activities so that we don’t have other waves of the disease internally,” he explained in a note.
Scheduled to begin in the first fortnight of May, an epidemiological study should be carried out with 900 volunteers living in Noronha, among men and women of different age groups, to assess the circulation of the coronavirus.
According to the Noronha Administration, two types of tests will be carried out for covid-19 in the archipelago. The first will be a real-time PCR to detect the virus, collecting material from the nose and throat and sent to Recife for analysis. The other will be a rapid test for the detection of antibodies, with blood collection in the laboratory of the Hospital São Lucas, in Noronha, and the result will be announced in a few hours.
For Guilherme Rocha, administrator of the island, the results are essential to assess the need for other protection measures and the return of activities at the destination. “It is necessary for the population to continue playing its role, staying at home,” says Rocha, through a note issued to the press.
Meanwhile, the Wilson Campos airport continues with prohibited landings until May 15. The last tourists left the island on March 21.
The 31 Norwegian families who are being held in Recife, harmed by the prohibition to disembark at the local air terminal, will receive 62 basic baskets, in a partnership between the State Department of Social Development and the Fernando de Noronha Administration.
