Twenty Brazil states have bed occupancy below 50%

Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported that, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic of the novel coronavirus, 20 of the 27 Brazilian states have a bed occupancy rate for COVID-19 below 50 percent. The number includes both clinical beds and intensive care.

The occupancy index, the ministry declared, is considered normal and comes as a result of the progress of vaccination in the country.

“In practice, this means that the hospital network in these states is less overloaded and reporting fewer severe or very severe cases of COVID-19—in other words, situations that require hospitalization and medical intervention,” a note issued by the ministry reads.

Among the states with a bed occupancy rate below 50 percent is São Paulo, the country’s most populous, which has also ranked first in number of both cases and deaths. Three states are in the alert zone, with rates between 51 and 69 percent. Rio de Janeiro is in the emergency range, with a rate of 70 to 80 percent. The state has the highest number of cases of infection with the delta variant. Still in the severe zone is Roraima state, with an occupancy rate between 80 and 94 percent.

The survey was concluded by the Health Ministry with data made available by state health secretariats.