As of now, Brazil is one of the most dangerous places in the world due to COVID-19. On average, each week 2,710 people die from the Coronavirus. In March, Brazil hit a record death toll as more than 3,780 people died in a single day.
This is largely due to an extremely contagious variant of the virus. Although this variant is of the greatest concern in Brazil, worries are increasing about it spreading across the world. The variant has already been found in two dozen countries, including a few cases in the United States. Efforts are being made to stop the spread, although there are worries about whether current vaccines can stop this variant.
The new variant also increases chances of becoming reinfected with COVID-19 after having it once. In other variants, the percentage of people who become infected with the virus and later get sick again are very low. The new variant in Brazil, however, seems to have higher rates of reinfection.
As the number of cases continue to climb, the availability of proper healthcare for sick individuals is scarce. Clinics often run out of their oxygen supplies that they use to support patients with breathing issues; the number of available beds in intensive care units continues to decline.
Perhaps a large part of the issue is that the Brazilian government isn’t doing enough to help control the virus. Recently, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was under fire for his lack of concern about the pandemic.
At a recent public event, President Bolsonaro was quoted as saying, “Stop whining. How long are you going to keep crying about it? How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? No one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution.”
His disregard for the significance of the pandemic and the number of lives that have been lost was met with a lot of backlash. The public and many other government officials have made it clear that they do not approve of Bolsonaro’s stance on the pandemic. João Doria, the governor of São Paulo, is one of the individuals who disapproves of Bolsonaro.
“How can we face the problem, seeing people die every day? The health system in Brazil is on the verge of collapse,” Doria stated in an interview with BBC. He also spoke of Bolsonaro directly, calling him a “crazy guy” for not supporting those who are trying to control the virus.
An emotional blog post by Isabella Dias speaks about the crisis from a personal perspective. Dias, like many others, is worried about Brazil’s future, as the country has lost over 310,000 lives during the pandemic. She expresses her concern about how uncertain things are for Brazil right now, stating that it feels like “there is no end in sight.”
The fight against COVID-19 in Brazil is still going strong. Right now, researchers are working to combat the spread of this dangerous variant–but Brazil also needs more support from its government. Too many lives have been lost due to the Coronavirus pandemic and we need to do everything we can to prevent more people from dying. If the people of Brazil are ever going to see a light at the end of the tunnel, they require all the support they can get.