Brazil tops 400 thousand deaths from COVID-19

Brazil has reached the milestone of 400 thousand people killed by COVID-19. In 24 hours, 3,001 deaths were reported, bringing the country’s death toll to 401,186. There are also 3,663 fatalities under investigation by health teams, as the cause of death is in some cases determined after a patient dies.

The total number of people who have contracted the virus since the beginning of the pandemic now stands at 14,590,678. From Wednesday to Thursday, 69,389 positive diagnoses for COVID-19 were confirmed.

The data can be found in the daily update published by Brazil’s Health Ministry on Thursday evening (29). The report combines figures on cases and deaths submitted by state health authorities.

In number of deaths, Brazil is second only to the US, which have reported 574,947 deaths from COVID-19 thus far. As for the case load, the country ranks third on the list, preceded by India (18,376,524) and the US (32,272,447).

Recovered people now total 13,152,118. There are also 1,037,374 patients with an active case, being monitored by health teams.

On the list of Brazilian states with the highest death tolls for COVID-19 are São Paulo (95,532), Rio de Janeiro (43,965), Minas Gerais (33,041), Rio Grande do Sul (24,753), and Paraná (22,229). Those with the lowest amount of fatalities are Roraima (1,503), Acre (1,525), Amapá (1,536), Tocantins (2,529), and Alagoas (4,200).

Repercussion

The National Council of Health Secretaries (CONASS) published a note expressing grief over the 400 thousand deaths. “The number reflects the pain of families who lost their parents, grandparents, children, and siblings in a quick, violent, and often solitary manner. It also reflects the missteps in the conduction and the absence of a centralized coordination at federal level.”

In the note, the secretaries insist on the need to expand vaccination efforts against COVID-19 and to mount a far-reaching campaign to highlight the role of prevention measures and stimulate people to be vaccinated.

Brazil’s National Health Council (CNS) has also released a statement in which it shows solidarity towards family members of the victims and criticizes the measures taken by the federal government: “The absence of national coordination, the deliberate removal of funding from the SUS [Brazil’s national public health care system] and the ideologically motivated denial in the purchase of the vaccines against COVID-19 at a moment we should already have acquired them are some of the countless reasons that make the current administration the great culprit behind the barbarism we are experiencing.”