Brazil exceeds 120,000 deaths from COVID-19

This file photo taken on June 21, 2020 shows an aerial view of a man walking past graves at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus on June 21, 2020 (Photo by MICHAEL DANTAS / AFP).

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Just over six months after registering its first case of the new coronavirus, Brazil crossed the grim threshold of 120,000 people killed by Covid-19 on Saturday, with no end in sight to the crisis.

The country of 212 million people has recorded 120,262 deaths from the virus and 3,846,153 infections, the Health Ministry said in its daily update.

Brazil is only the second country to exceed the 120,000 death toll in the pandemic, after the United States, where the death toll now exceeds 182,000.

Unlike Europe and Asia, where the virus hit hard and then subsided, Brazil’s outbreak is progressing at a slow but devastating pace, said Christovam Barcellos, a researcher at the Fiocruz public health institute.

“Brazil is unique in the world. Since the beginning of the pandemic, its curve has been different from that of other countries, much slower, “he told AFP.

“It has stabilized now, but at a very dangerous level: almost 1,000 deaths and 40,000 cases per day…. And Brazil is still not over the top. “

‘Total incoordination’

Brazil confirmed its first case of the virus on February 26, a businessman from Sao Paulo returning from a trip to Italy. He recorded his first death on March 16.

The pandemic soon turned political in the largest country in Latin America.

President Jair Bolsonaro condemned the “hysteria” surrounding the virus and attacked governors and mayors who imposed lockdown measures, arguing that the economic damage would be worse than the disease itself.

Instead, the far-right leader has promoted the drug hydroxychloroquine as the solution to the health crisis, even though studies show it to be ineffective against Covid-19.

He again said on Saturday that the controversial drug had “saved the lives of thousands of victims” in Brazil.

Bolsonaro even took what he himself called the “right wing” drug when he was diagnosed with the virus in July.

Experts widely agree that the lack of a cohesive message from Brazilian leaders is responsible for the country’s failure to “flatten the curve.”

“It is terrible. There has been a total lack of coordination on the part of the federal government, which unfortunately is another characteristic of the pandemic in Brazil,” Barcellos said.

Meanwhile, the virus has spread from the first demographic it infected, wealthy travelers returning from abroad, to more vulnerable groups and within the country.

Impoverished residents of overcrowded favelas or slums in cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have been especially affected.

So have indigenous groups in the Amazon rainforest, who have a history of vulnerability to external diseases.

Bolsonaro popular as always

Meanwhile, Brazil’s economy, the largest in Latin America, is heading for a record recession this year due to the fallout.

The Economy Ministry estimates that GDP contracted between 8 and 10 percent in the second quarter of 2020, and economists forecast a contraction of more than 5 percent for the year.

But Bolsonaro, paradoxically, is as popular as ever.

The president, who took office in January 2019, received the best approval rating for his term earlier this month, 37 percent, five points higher than in June, according to leading polling firm Datafolha.

It found that it was doing particularly well among poor Brazilians who had received monthly stimulus payments of 600 reais (about $ 110) to offset the economic pain of the pandemic.

The former army captain had a 42 percent approval rating among recipients of temporary stimulus payments.

The survey also found that 47 percent of Brazilians do not blame Bolsonaro for the death toll from Covid-19 in the country, while only 11 percent see him as the “main culprit.”

Other recent polls have also found that the man dubbed the “Tropical Trump” has growing popularity and a strong chance of re-election in 2022.

“Bolsonaro is a phenomenon. It is a political force to be reckoned with, ”said political analyst Michael Mohallem of the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Still, he added, “the way he’s handled this is shocking. It’s not just his denial…. He has often crossed the line of disrespecting victims. “

Meanwhile, “the death toll is shockingly high,” he said. “And I think one day he will have to pay the price.”

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