COVID-19: Brazil surpasses 200 thousand deaths
Brazil has reached the mark of 200 thousand deaths stemming from the pandemic of the novel coronavirus. The update released on Thursday evening (Jan. 7) by the Health Ministry reports a total of 200,498 fatalities linked to COVID-19.
There are also 664,244 people infected being monitored. Another 7,096,931 people—89.1 percent of the total—have recovered from the disease.
In 24 hours, 1,524 new deaths were registered. It was the second day with the highest deaths notified in all of the pandemic, outweighed only by July 29, when 1,595 new victims were confirmed. A total of 2,543 fatalities are under investigation.
The country’s total case tally now stands near 8 million. According to the ministry’s official report, Brazil has reached 7,961,673 people infected since the beginning of the sanitary emergency.
From Wednesday to Thursday, 87,843 new positive diagnoses of the disease were confirmed—the highest in all of the pandemic period. The day with the highest increase in the case count had been December 16, 2020—70,574.
On the list with Brazilian states with the largest death tolls, first comes São Paulo (47,768), then Rio de Janeiro (26,292), Minas Gerais (12,366), Ceará (10,096), and Pernambuco (9,763). The states with the least number of fatalities are Roraima (793), Acre (821), Amapá (956), Tocantins (1,257), and Rondônia (1,890).
Repercussion
The Ministry of Health released a note showing condolences towards “families who lost their beloved ones.” In the statement, it says it has been “working tirelessly to ensure safe and efficient vaccines for the population,” further mentioning the role of health agents in tackling the pandemic.
“It is important to highlight the force of each health professional—including doctors, nurses, caretakers, and technicians—that make the Unified Health System [the SUS, Brazil’s national network of public hospitals and care stations] work,” the note goes on to read.
The National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass) classified the fact as a “sad threshold.” According to the secretaries, the Unified Health System showed has proved how necessary it is for the population. But the entity warns there are still a number of challenges ahead.
“We need to be attentive to all the measures for the acquisition of supplies crucial to the success of the initiative, with syringes and needles. Right now, there is enough stock to meet the demands in the first stage of the initiative. It is key, however, that a national purchase by the Health Ministry, be made in amounts that ensure vaccination against COVID-19 and the replenishment of stocks that need to be reallocated,” the note by Conass says.
In a TV and radio broadcast on Thursday evening, Pazuello stated that the government guaranteed the availability of 354 million doses of vaccines, from three laboratories, for the immunization of the Brazilian population in 2021.
In addition, the ministry declared approximately 60 million syringes and aneedles are currently available to start the vaccination of the population in January. “We also have the guarantee from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) that we are to receive another 8 million syringes and needles in February, in addition to another 30 million already requested to Abimo, the association of syringe producers.”
“Our entities have expressed their deepest grief for the lives lost, many of which avoidable and the result of inaction and irresponsibility of the leaders of the nations in tackling the pandemic. We feel saddened by the incalculable loss of millions of Brazilian men and women infected and killed by COVID-19 and their family members.”
