The Brazilian capital Brasilia will enter a 24-hour lockdown on Saturday as coronavirus cases and hospital admissions increase, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: Hospitals in Brasilia, Brazil’s third largest city, are struggling to keep up with hospital admissions due to the virus. More than 80% of the city’s intensive care beds are occupied, according to Reuters.
Details: Shops, pharmacies, gas stations, churches and funeral homes will remain open as they are considered essential services, but all other services will be closed, according to Reuters.
- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who lives and works in Brasilia, on Friday threatened to end federal funding for states implementing lockdowns, saying they are destroying jobs.
The big picture: ICU beds in the capitals of 17 of Brazil’s 26 states reached their most critical levels this week since the pandemic started a year ago, Reuters said.
- Brazil reported 65,169 new cases 1,337 deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours.
- According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the virus killed a total of more than 252,830 people in Brazil.