Brazil reaches 150,000 deaths from COVID-19

Brazil’s count of COVID-19 deaths surpassed 150,000 on Saturday (Oct 10) night, despite signs the pandemic is slowly retreating in Latin America's major nation.

The Brazilian Health Ministry reported that the death toll now stands at 150,198. The figure may be the world’s second-highest behind the United States, in line with the tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

The milestone has rekindled the pain of Naiane Moura, a sales consultant, who lost her father Elivaldo to COVID-19 in April. The 58-year-old postman had no prior illness and battled COVID-19 for a week in a public hospital in Manaus, Brazil’s major city in the Amazon.

“When I see 150,000, I see my father alongside a great many other faceless bodies,” Moura said by phone. “I didn’t suppose we would reach that number. I don’t assume that we will ever manage to totally overcome this.”

Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro played down the severe nature of the virus while deaths mounted rapidly in Brazil. The 65-year-old president flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence.

Bolsonaro rejected governors’ and mayors’ lockdowns and other tough measures to contain the virus’ spread, even after he contracted it himself in July, and insisted that shutting down Brazil’s economy would pitch the nation into chaos.

“Life continues on. Brazil needs to produce,” he said on July 7 in Brasilia when he announced he was infected.

Moura’s hometown of Manaus became a horror show early on in the pandemic. Between April and could, the health system collapsed in the location as patients were turned away from full hospitals and overwhelmed cemeteries were forced to dig mass graves. The administrative centre of Amazonas state has had 122 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, far above the national average of 71 per 100,000. The country of 210 million persons surpassed 5 million confirmed infections on Wednesday, according to official data.

There were recent signs of relief in Brazil. During the last month and a half, the viral curve has dropped. The average number of deaths sat at 598 during the last 7 days, the lowest level because the beginning of May.

The mayors of large cities such as for example Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro continue steadily to reopen pursuits like cinemas and schools, even as public health experts warn of possible new outbreaks.

Manaus, where restrictions were relaxed, registered a rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks that resulted in speculation of a possible second wave. Local authorities reinstituted restrictions on commerce and activity, and turn off the riverside beach.

Moura said she holds federal authorities accountable for the massive death toll.

“A lot of lives could have been saved if our leaders had taken rigorous measures initially,” she said.

Bolsonaro has faced fierce criticism of his handling of medical crisis, and changed health ministers twice amid the pandemic. Yet his popularity reaches its highest since he took office in January 2019, which political analysts attribute to his distribution of emergency cash to help tens of an incredible number of poorer Brazilians withstand the economical downturn. 

Some 40 % of Brazilians surveyed by pollster Ibope rate their government nearly as good or excellent, according to a poll published Sep 24 which has a margin for error of 2 percentage points. “Bolsonaro helped the populace to open their eyes. Health must go together with the economy, ”said Paulo Gomes, 54, a taxi driver who supports Bolsonaro.

In Sao Paulo, Ricardo Vieira, a health care provider working in among the city’s major working-class neighbourhoods referred to as favelas, said the government’s COVID-19 cash transfer program wasn’t enough to shield the indegent, who frequently have scarce access to healthcare.

To remedy having less support in the Paraisopolis favela, an NGO called G10 hired three private ambulances and eight medical researchers, among them Dr Vieira, who has been there since March.

“We are dealing with lives, so when we came to an unhealthy community we saw that the government cannot reach these folks," Vieira told the Associated Press.

Regardless of the difficulties and the lack of resources, Vieira continues to fight to support the pandemic’s devastation.

“I do what I could, I really do my best,” Vieira said, as tears welled up then rolled down his cheek. “And I don’t know what else I possibly could do.”