Pernambuco studies confinement and has already asked the Army for support.

RECIFE – With a drop in adherence to social isolation and an increasing burden on the health system, Pernambuco is studying the application of the blockade, that is, the total blockade in cities, due to the advancement of the new coronavirus. According to state health officials, the government has already requested the support of the army and presented the proposal to the Legislative Assembly and the Ministry of Health.

“Today, Governor Paulo Câmara (PSB) called a meeting with the other powers of the State to discuss the need to intensify social isolation. We are designing this process and studying how to do it to ensure that it succeeds,” said the secretary. State of health, André Longo. “It is very important, at this time, to flatten the curve so that we can reach the peak of the epidemic with the fewest number of cases and deaths.”

According to Longo, the Pernambuco government sent a letter to the Northeast Military Command, requesting support for restrictive measures against covid-19. The State also reportedly requested assistance from the Ministry of Health to apply the blockade.

“We proposed to make this request for the Ministry of Health to make a public demonstration, recognizing the difficulties of Pernambuco,” said the secretary. “Unfortunately, we still don’t have the unity that allows us to work, all together, to build the necessary blockade or quarantine. And, after that, build the exit with criteria.”

According to the epidemiological bulletin of this Monday 4, Pernambuco has registered 8,863 diagnoses and 691 deaths from covid-19 so far. In the state, 98% of the 435 ICU beds are occupied. “We have no choice but to increase social isolation,” said the secretary.

In the government’s analysis, the most worrying situation is in Greater Recife, considered the epicenter of the pandemic. “The balance indicates that 90% of the most serious cases are in the Recife Metropolitan Region, which also has around 85% of death cases,” said Longo.

Monitoring in Pernambuco points to consecutive decreases in adherence to social isolation, according to the government. In the last measurement, made last week, the index was 46%, well below the 70% recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Recently, queues and crowds were also registered in banks and lottery agencies to withdraw the benefit offered by the federal government.

Recife Municipal Health Secretary Jailson Correia says relaxation is concerned. “Recife has also participated in this debate (about the blockade),” he said. “There are strategies aimed at operating surgically in neighborhoods where there is less adherence, with reinforced inspection and educational work, but naturally there is a limit.”

In the capital, 73 of the 94 ICU beds are occupied by patients with coronavirus. “We are not ruling out any other necessary measures at this time,” Correia said. “Any measure that is put into practice depends on the uniformity of thought, coordinated with all federal entities.”

Also according to health authorities, both the state and the capital are considering making masks on the obligatory streets. At the moment, practice is just a recommendation.

Scientists suggested ‘partial closure’ to the government

Since last week, with a bed occupancy rate of over 90%, groups of scientists from Pernambuco have suggested to the government that the quarantine should be tightened. In meetings held to discuss panoramas of the crisis with health officials, the researchers advocate the application of the “partial closure”.

“In other countries, there was a radical closure, with the Armed Forces on the streets and the fine of people for leaving their home, but the social and economic reality is incompatible with ours,” said José Luiz de Lima Filho, director of the Keizo Asami Immunopathology (Lika), from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), State.

“Making the total blockade in Recife would be extremely difficult and could cause a popular revolt, with a much worse effect,” said the researcher. “But we need to reduce the number of cars and buses on the streets, make barricades to reduce travel between regions – all of this is possible,” he said.

For Lima Filho, the recent crowds and the relaxation of social isolation have had a direct impact on the increase in cases, especially in Recife. “Today we are at great risk of collapsing into the healthcare system,” he said. “If we do something stiffer now, we will win with faster social openness.”