São Paulo steps up measures against COVID-19

The government of São Paulo on Monday (Nov. 30) announced the return of the whole state to the Yellow Phase of the São Paulo Plan. The revision comes as a result of the surge in COVID-19 transmission and hospitalization rates in the country’s most populous state. The assessment and monitoring of the transmissions of the novel coronavirus will start being held weekly rather than every 28 days.

In the Yellow Phase, establishments operate at a limited 40 percent of occupancy in every sector, with an amount of daily working hours restricted to ten, up to 10 pm. Cultural areas where the public is seated with social distancing and traffic control are still open. The new classification within the São Paulo Plan will be unveiled on January 4.

This afternoon (Dec. 1), the state government is poised to meet online with 62 mayors from municipalities exhibiting spikes above 75 percent in hospital beds and ten percent in the hospitalization rate. Leaders will discuss ways to step up pandemic control efforts, devise curbing measures, and offer support so that state government guidelines are implemented.

According to data from the State Health Secretariat, last week a 14 percent reduction was reported in the case tally, along with an increase of 12 percent in deaths and seven percent in hospitalizations. COVID-19 bed occupancy in the metropolitan region of São Paulo stands at 59.1 percent, compared to 52.2 percent statewide. In the state, 1,241,653 cases were notified, along with 42,095 deaths.

“We’ll bolster inspection tools and measures. We’ve been active and alert in our efforts. We need the same people who ensured the success of the São Paulo Plan thus far so that we can continue to be successful until vaccine is available,” said State Health Secretary Jean Gorinchteyn.

São Paulo Plan

The São Paulo Plan started being implemented on June 1 and includes the piecemeal resumption of sectors of the economy. The state, with ranks first for cases and deaths in Brazil, was split into 17 regional health care departments, divided according to a five-level, or five-color, scale of economic resumption. Each region is allowed to reopen sectors according to the phase in which it finds itself. Figures taken into account include the average occupancy rate of ICU beds exclusively dedicated to coronavirus patients, the number of new admissions in the same period, and the death toll.

After the move announced by the state government, regardless of the color they were classified as (green, blue, yellow, orange, and red), all regional departments were brought back to yellow, with all of its restrictions readopted.