Hospitals in Brazilian cities 'close to collapse'
Health systems in almost all of Brazil's major cities are close to collapse because of Covid-19 cases, a written report by the country's Fiocruz institute warns.
The Rio de Janeiro-based institute said a lot more than 80% of intensive care unit (ICU) beds are occupied in the capitals of 25 of Brazil's 27 states.
On Tuesday the united states recorded 1,972 Covid deaths, a new daily record.
Brazil has recorded a lot more than 266,000 deaths and 11 million cases since the pandemic began.
It gets the second highest number of deaths on the globe following the US and the 3rd highest number of confirmed cases.
According to Fiocruz, 15 state capitals have ICUs that are in a lot more than 90% capacity including Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and São Paulo.
Two cities - Porto Alegre and Campo Grande - have exceeded ICU capacity.
In its report it warned that figures pointed to the "overload and even collapse of health systems".
"The fight Covid-19 was lost in 2020 and there is not the slightest chance of reversing this tragic circumstance in the first half of 2021," Fiocruz epidemiologist Jesem Orellana said, quoted by AFP news agency.
"The best we are able to do is expect the miracle of mass vaccination or a radical change in the management of the pandemic.
"Today, Brazil is a threat to humanity and an open-air laboratory where impunity in management seems to be the rule."
Last week professionals told Valor Economic newspaper that deaths would soon surpass 2,000 a day. They warned that the only way to avoid this is if the federal government took over national coordination of the fight the virus, recommending lockdowns, the utilization of masks and a mass vaccination drive.
A lot more than eight million people experienced their first vaccination dose so far, representing just over 4% of the population.
On Tuesday, the country also recorded a lot more than 70,000 cases, a 38% increase on last week, according to local media. The recent rise has been related to the spread of an extremely contagious variant of the virus considered to have started in the Amazon city of Manaus.
Despite this, President Jair Bolsonaro has continued to downplay the threat posed by the virus.
Earlier this week he told persons to "stop whining". Speaking at a meeting, he said: "How long are you going to keep crying about any of it? How much longer do you want to stay in the home and close everything? No-one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we desire a solution."
A number of quarantine measures have already been taken by regional governors, which Mr Bolsonaro has opposed, arguing that the collateral harm to the economy will be worse compared to the effects of the virus itself.
