March can in many ways be described as a nightmare month for Brazil.
It was the deadliest month since the pandemic began in Brazil, with 66,573 registered corona deaths. That is more than twice as many as the previous record month.
On Tuesday, another gloomy corona record was set in the country. Then, for the first time, more than 4,000 corona-related deaths were registered in one day.
Brazil recorded 4,195 corona deaths on Tuesday. In addition, 86,979 new cases of infection were reported.
The high infection pressure has pushed the country’s hospitals to the breaking point, and it is reported that doctors are forced to choose which patients to provide lifesaving help to.
Fear of another deadlock
Experts are now looking to the future with fear.
According to The Guardian experts fear that more than 100,000 Brazilians could lose their lives in April if the Brazilian authorities do not take action.
– Brazil is in a perfect storm, says researcher Miguel Nicolelis, who is a former infection control coordinator in northeastern Brazil, according to NTB.
– We have the worst in store
Nicolelis believes the situation in Brazil poses a threat to the entire international community’s attempts to bring the pandemic under control.
– If Brazil is not under control, the planet will not be safe because new virus variants occur there every week. And they will cross borders, the researcher says BBC.
– Out of control
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– It is a nuclear reactor that has initiated a chain reaction and is out of control. It is a biological “Fukushima”, says Nicolelis, referring to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011.
Epidemiologist Ethel Maciel also describes the situation as “terrible”.
“At the rate we are vaccinating, the only way to slow down the extremely rapid spread of the virus is a shutdown for at least 20 days,” Maciel told AFP.
Will not shut down
– The biggest genocide in our history
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has has long been criticized for not taking the pandemic seriously, and still stands by the fact that he will not shut down the country.
– There will be no nationwide lockdown. The army will not take to the streets to keep people at home. Freedom is invaluable, Bolsonaro told reporters on Wednesday, according to the newspaper.
– The largest genocide in our history
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The president’s strategy has received massive criticism.
Former president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is among those who have taken a hard line against Bolsonaro as a result of the high death toll.
– It is the biggest genocide in our history, the ex-president has stated according to the news agency AFP.
“Brazil suffocates”
– We must be tested forever
At the same time as the criticism is hailed, the country’s health care is on its knees.
More than 90 percent of Brazil’s intensive care capacity is spent on corona patients, and several cities are running out of equipment that, among other things, provides oxygen.
Health workers like Al Jazeera has spoken to, has described the situation as “Brazil is suffocating”, and refers to the lack of respirators and capacity in the country.
