Brazil exceeds 10,000 deaths from COVID-19

RÍO DE JANEIRO: Brazil, the Latin American country most affected in the coronavirus pandemic, has exceeded 10,000 deaths, according to figures published on Saturday (May 9) by the Ministry of Health.

While Brazil’s numbers are high (10,627 deaths and 155,939 confirmed cases), scientists believe the actual numbers could be 15 or even 20 times worse, given the country’s inability to carry out widespread testing.

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Congress and the Supreme Court have decreed an official three-day mourning period, and lawmakers have asked Brazilians to follow the recommendations of health authorities to reduce infection rates as the country prepares for “a safe and definitive return to The normality”.

Meanwhile, President Jair Bolsonaro, who opposes the stay-at-home measures due to its impact on the country’s economy, was seen on a jet ski on Lake Paranoa in Brasilia, according to the Metropoles news website.

Authorities told AFP that it did not plan to make a statement about the country, reaching 10,000 deaths.

In the last 24 hours alone, the nation saw 10,611 new cases and 730 deaths, the second highest daily death toll in Brazil, after a record set on Friday (751 deaths).

“THE SITUATION IS DIRE”

Resisting Bolsonaro’s pressure, the governors of the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have said they will extend the partial quarantine measures in force from March to the end of May.

The pandemic has led to ongoing government clashes, pitting the president against governors and mayors who have implemented measures of social distancing and confinement to contain the spread of the virus, efforts supported by the country’s Supreme Court.

In announcing that his state’s blockade would be prolonged, Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria said on Friday: “We are at the height of this pandemic. The situation is serious.”

Its southeastern state of nearly 46 million residents has seen more than 3,600 deaths and more than 44,400 cases.

The neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro, home to more than 16 million people, continues with 1,653 deaths and 16,929 infections. Less populated states like Ceará, Pernambuco and Amazonas already have around a thousand deaths each.

Amazonas, home to a series of indigenous tribes that are extremely vulnerable to the virus, has recorded 232 deaths per million inhabitants, almost three times the rate in the state of Sao Paulo.

While Brazil’s coronavirus spike is not expected for several more weeks, seven states have already seen their intensive care units fill to 90 percent of capacity.

Bolsonaro, who compared the coronavirus to a “little flu,” tweeted Saturday that the “country’s army of unemployed people continues to grow” in reference to the closure of a factory in the northeast, before asking “is chaos coming?”

On Thursday, the country’s economy minister, Paulo Guedes, said Brazil could face an “economic collapse” in a month due to measures to stay home.

According to the IMF, Brazil is at risk of a 5.3 percent contraction in GDP this year.

Worldwide, the virus has claimed more than 277,000 lives, and the number of coronavirus cases has exceeded four million, according to an AFP count.

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