The state of Sao Paulo registered a total of 1,021 deaths in 24 hours on Tuesday. This figure is the highest recorded since the start of the pandemic.
The deadliest day for the state in terms of the pandemic was seven days ago, on March 16, when 679 people died in 24 hours. In total, 68,623 people in São Paulo have lost their lives to Covid-19.
The health system is also on the verge of collapse, with 91.9% of intensive care beds in the state occupied. On Monday, 29,039 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in Sao Paulo, 12,168 of whom were in intensive care beds. On March 1, the number of hospitalized patients was 15,977, almost half the current number.
On Monday, Sao Paulo’s Council of Municipal Health Secretariats warned that 54 cities only have enough oxygen for the rest of the week.
In a press conference the same day, Governor João Doria announced a partnership with a private beverage company to build an oxygen plant in Ribeirao Preto, one of the largest cities in the state of Sao Paulo.
In an interview with CNN’s Julia Chatterley on Monday, Brazilian governor Joao Doria of Sao Paulo state called Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro a “psychopathic leader” and criticized the president’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are in one of those tragic moments in history when millions of people pay a dear price for having an unprepared and psychopathic leader in charge of a nation,” he said on CNN’s First Move.
Doria said much of the deaths from the virus in Brazil could have been avoided if Bolsonaro “acted with the responsibility the position gives him.” He added that Bolsonaro “made incredible mistakes, the biggest being having a political dispute with the governors who are trying to protect the population.”
Some background information: Bolsonaro has repeatedly opposed lockdowns and restrictive measures and criticized governors and mayors for their implementation. He has also greeted crowds of his supporters during the pandemic, without wearing a mask, and has advocated drugs such as hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus – a drug that has no proven effectiveness in fighting Covid-19.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, Brazil now has more than 12 million cases of coronavirus in the country.
CNN’s Julia Chatterley and Hira Humayun contributed reporting to this post.