It’s no surprise that Covid-19 affected the world and in Brazil, it’s no different. The second wave of the pandemic has increased the number of cases, and the occupancy of ICU beds is getting higher. In Acre, Brazilian northern state, the situation is the same, with 58,000 confirmed cases and 1.037 deaths by the Covid-19.
And it gets even worse because Acre is facing four humanitarian crises. The virus continues to spread through the state, leaving more people hospitalized. In addition to that, the hospitals are dealing with a dengue outbreak, leaving the hospitals at capacity and putting the health system close to collapse.
The region was also hit by a climate tragedy: due to heavy rains, at least five rivers that cut through the cities overflowed and caused flooding in at least ten cities in Acre. Reaching more than 120,000 people, with hundreds of homeless people who lost everything they had. And now, more than 2,000 families are living in improvised shelters inside schools – the situation is even more serious and worrying in the midst of the pandemic.
Along with the current floods, the cases of dengue fever showed a great spike in numbers, since the mosquitos that transmit the illness are tied to the accumulation of standing water. With more than eight thousand disease notifications, the state is dealing with yet another health outbreak. The number of cases has increased six times over the same period last year and hospitalizations are being very frequent, with several cases of hemorrhagic dengue. This is very concerning, since hospitals already have to deal with many cases of Covid-19, and also patients who have been infected with both diseases simultaneously.
Adding all the crises together, Acre still suffers from a migratory issue, with Haitians and Africans wanting to leave Brazil. These immigrants, who entered the country in search of jobs and a better standard of life, are trying to leave due to mass layoffs and the bad state of Brazil’s economy, which became even worse since March 2020, due to the start of the pandemic. Now, their destinations are Mexico, the USA and Canada. The exit door for these immigrants is Peru, but the Brazil-Peru border is closed because of governments’ regulations regarding the pandemic, preventing immigrants from going to the country.
For several days, approximately 400 people have been camping on the border, in the city of Assis Brasil in Acre. There has already been an attempted invasion in Peru but it was contained by the Peruvian police that made immigrants return to Brazilian territory. The city hall has already decreed a state of public calamity — “The city of Assis Brasil does not have the financial, structural or personnel capacity to serve so many people” said Mayor Jerry Correia in an interview with G1.
Amid this chaos that the state goes through, with the health system almost collapsing, Acre asks for support and help from the Federal Government. The #SOSACRE movement, which is led by the Public Ministry of Acre and the State Court of Justice, had the support of many artists who mobilized. The writer Glória Perez, who was born in Acre, in an interview with Fantástico made a request — “What we hope is that Brazil will look at the acre, (…) help the Brazilians of Acre, SOS ACRE”.
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The article above was edited by Isadora Noronha Pereira.
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