Central Bank statistics department head Fernando Rocha said that the global pandemic caused recession in the country, in the demand for imported goods and services, and generated a reduction in the deficit of current transactions,

The restriction applies to all nationalities, in compliance with a recommendation by the country’s sanitary regulator Anvisa. The move was motivated by the detection of variants of the novel coronavirus in the UK, Northern Ireland, and South Africa.

The country’s total case tally has reached 8,933,356, 7,798,655 of whom have recovered from the illness. There are also 915,823 active cases being monitored by health agents.

The president explained that, last week, the government was contacted by investors on having 33 million doses of the Oxford vaccines imported.

The number of people infected since the beginning of the pandemic escalated to 8,871,393, after 28,816 new patients infected with COVID-19 from Sunday to Monday were reported.

In the president’s view, the institution’s main concern at the moment is speeding up the arrival of the active pharmaceutical ingredient so that Fiocruz may manufacture the vaccines. The item is expected to come by February 8, but no fixed date has been officially announced, she said.

Minas Gerais state prosecutors sustain that Tüv Süd is to be held jointly responsible for the tragedy. The report indicates collusion between Vale and Tüv Süd. Both companies have been accused of assuming collapsing risks while having knowledge of the dam’s critical conditions, and not sharing share the data with the authorities or society.