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Without serious, aggressive and urgent social measures in Brazil, the number of deaths from covid-19 will increase even more and the country will be a threat to the South American region and the world. The statement is from the summit of the World Health Organization (WHO), which this Friday warned about the Brazilian health crisis and sent a message to the government that, while it acts, it will not be able to stop the pandemic.
“The situation is very worrying. We are deeply concerned,” he said. “It is not only the number of new cases that is increasing, but also deaths,” insisted Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO director general.
“To stop transmission and have a significant impact, serious social measures must be taken,” he defended. “The measures that must be taken must be as serious as possible for there to be any significant progress,” insisted Tedros.
He made it clear that the responsibility lies with government officials to carry a “clear message” about the real situation in the country and adopt concrete and consistent measures.
“If no serious action is taken, the upward trend that is flooding the healthcare system and exceeding its capacity will translate into more deaths,” Tedros warned.
“The situation in Brazil has worsened, with a high incidence of cases and an increase in deaths throughout the country,” said Mike Ryan, WHO’s director of operations. According to him, there is rapid growth in ICU bed occupancy, with over 96% in some places or depleting in terms of space. “There is little capacity and resilience left in the system,” he said.
“We would like to see Brazil go in a different direction. But it will take a lot of effort to make this happen. The system is under pressure now. While many Latin American countries are going in a good direction, Brazil is not.” set.
“This must be taken seriously in Brazil,” Ryan insisted. “I have no doubt that the Brazilian health, science and people can reverse this. The question is whether they will have the support they need to do this,” he warned, in a direct message to the government.
According to him, there was an improvement in the situation in the state of Amazonas. But other parts are experiencing a new drama. “Some regions are under extreme threat,” he said, pointing to the Midwest and South.
Ryan also noted that he is concerned about the increase in the rate of positive tests and the number of fatalities, reflecting the pressure on the system and the lack of time for healthcare professionals.
Variants
The chief of operations did not hide that he continues to be concerned about greater transmissibility and virulence from the virus in Brazil, especially due to the P1 mutation.
“We don’t see it as a variant that cares about its national impact. But because it has an implication beyond national borders,” Ryan said.
Maria van Kerkhove, technical director of the WHO, once again insisted that the variant in Brazil is “worrying”, since it indicates greater transmissibility. “The more cases it has, the greater the demand from hospitals and this situation in places with already depleted capacity could lead to a higher number of deaths,” he said.
However, according to her, distance measures work and can be used to stop the crisis. “Wearing masks and shedding works, and in many countries, these measures are reducing transmission,” insisted Van Kerhove, who advocates for more testing, monitoring and isolation of positive cases. For the specialist, although the variant is of higher risk, there are ways to control it.
Without serious measures, deaths will increase even more
Tedros Ghebreyeus, director general of the WHO, indicated that he was “really confused” by the failure of Brazil to face the crisis, only that the country has a public health system that would be a “model” in terms of community care.
“I was hoping the system could work better,” he said, recalling his various visits to the country to learn about disease monitoring across the country. “But it goes against our expectations,” he lamented.
“We have already passed 2,000 deaths a day. It is getting very serious and I think that, starting with the government, all the actors have to take it seriously,” insisted Tedros.
Global threat
The CEO insisted that, given the scenario, Brazil is a global threat. According to Tedros, some South American countries are better than Brazil. “But if the situation in the country continues to worsen, as it is, neighboring countries will be affected,” he said. “And it is not just the region. This could go further,” he warned.
Tedros insisted that as long as the virus gains ground in some part of the world or mutates, it will remain an “even greater” risk.
When asked if Brazil is a threat to global health, Ryan was clear in pointing out the risks. “Brazil is a great nation and an important anchor in South America and in the world. What happens in Brazil matters globally,” he said. “Brazil has always been a positive example in terms of public health and one of the first to eliminate polio,” he said. But he also made it clear: “what happens negatively also matters.”
The statement comes at a time when data reveals that Brazil is the new epicenter of the pandemic. With 2.7% of the world population, the country accumulates 15% of the new cases of contagion.
If the global number of infected since January 2020 still places the United States in the first position in the world with 29 million cases, European technicians warn that a more accurate assessment of the current stage of the pandemic can only be made if the latest 14 days are considered.
The period is determined based on the incubation of the virus. Knowing where the contamination occurred in these two weeks, according to the researchers, is knowing where the crisis is today in the world.
In this period, the world registered 5.4 million new cases of covid-19. 858 thousand of them, however, occurred only in Brazil, 15% of the total. The Brazilian population, however, represents only 2.7% of the planet. In the United States, 798 thousand new ones were contaminated in 14 days.
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