SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazil first reported a 24-hour census of more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, becoming the third nation to exceed that daily threshold.
Many governors, mayors and judges are reopening parts of the economy despite the ongoing chaos in overcrowded hospitals and a collapsed health system in various parts of the country.
Brazil’s Ministry of Health said there have been 4,195 deaths in the past 24 hours, with the country’s pandemic toll quickly approaching 340,000, the second highest in the world. The US and Peru alone have more than 4,000 fatalities every day.
In the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous country with 46 million inhabitants, nearly 1,400 people died at last count. Health officials said the figure was due in part to the Easter holiday, which slowed the count.
Local authorities across the country claim that the number of cases and hospitalizations is on a downward trend after a week of partial shutdown.
Miguel Lago, executive director of the Brazilian Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials, said reopening is a mistake he fears will bring even higher death rates, although he thinks it is unlikely to be reversed.
“The fact is, President Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-lockdown story has won,” Lago told The Associated Press. “Mayors and governors are politically prohibited from reinforcing social distance policies because they know that supporters of the president, including business leaders, will sabotage it.”
Bolsonaro, who has long downplayed the risks of the coronavirus, remains completely against lockdowns as damaging to the economy.
COVID-19 patients use more than 90% of intensive care beds in most Brazilian states, although the numbers have been stable since the past week. Yet hundreds die while waiting for care, and basic supplies such as oxygen and tranquilizers are running out in several states.
According to Our World in Data, an online research site, less than 3% of the 210 million people in Brazil have received both doses of coronavirus vaccines.
Last weekend, Brazilian Supreme Court justices started a tug of war over the reopening of religious buildings, which were closed by many local authorities despite a decision by the federal government to label them as part of essential services.
Some churches welcomed their faithful on Easter Sunday, but others were stopped by mayors and governors. Their reopening will be settled by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, but some local councils, such as Belo Horizonte, voted on Tuesday to keep religious buildings open.
Also on Tuesday, a judge in Rio de Janeiro had schools reopened as mayor Eduardo Paes wanted. Hours later, the mayors of Campinas and Sorocaba, two of the most populous cities in the state of Sao Paulo, agreed to reopen business with a drive-thru purchase system after a 10-day shutdown.
Professional soccer managers in Sao Paulo said they expect to play matches this week after a 15-day hiatus, and local prosecutors pledged to follow stricter health protocols.