Brazil's COVID response cost thousands of lives, says humanitarian group

RIO DE JANEIRO—The Brazilian government's "failed response" to the pandemic led to thousands of otherwise avoidable deaths and created a humanitarian catastrophe that is still playing out, aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Thursday.

Brazil's COVID-19 outbreak is the deadliest in the world after the United States and is currently leading in average daily mortalities. Last week more than a quarter of all global deaths were in Brazil.

For the interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus, click here. 

A brutal second wave has hospitals saying they are running short of crucial drugs for intubating patients and most Brazilian states report that intensive care units are at or near capacity.

Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has opposed lockdowns, and has held large events in which he often does not wear a mask. He has only recently embraced vaccines as a possible solution.

"More than one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the failed response in Brazil has caused a humanitarian catastrophe," said Christos Christou, a medical doctor and president of MSF, sometimes called Doctors Without Borders in English.

"Each week there is a grim new record of deaths and infections - the hospitals are overflowing and yet there is still no coordinated centralized response," Christou said in a briefing with reporters, adding the situation was expected to become even worse in the weeks ahead.

Bolsonaro has openly fought against state and local governments seeking to institute lockdowns, saying Brazilians need to get on with normal life and that job losses are more dangerous than the virus.

MSF Director-General Meinie Nicolai said the surge in cases cannot be blamed only on the contagious Brazilian COVID-19 variant, known as P.1.

"The P.1 variant is certainly a problem, but this doesn't explain the situation in Brazil," she said. (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro Writing by Jake Spring Editing by Matthew Lewis)

-reuters-

Brazil surpasses 100,000 coronavirus deaths: officials

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil on Saturday surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths and three million cases of infection, according to the latest tally from the Ministry of Health.

With 100,477 fatalities and 3,012,412 confirmed cases, the South American country of 212 million people is the second hardest-hit country in the global pandemic, after the United States.

The health ministry reported 905 new deaths in the past 24 hours, as well as 49,970 new cases. 

But the official figures are most likely an undercount, with experts estimating that the total number of infections could be up to six times higher due to insufficient testing.

Brazil has seen 478 deaths per million people, a figure equivalent to that of the United States (487), but lower than that of Spain (609) or Italy (583).

Senate speaker Davi Alcolumbre announced four days of mourning in Congress to pay tribute to the country's 100,000-plus virus victims.

The coronavirus outbreak in Brazil is showing no signs of slowing as it enters is sixth month.

The country's first confirmed COVID-19 case was identified in Sao Paulo on February 26, with the first death on March 12, also in the city.

Agence France-Presse

Brazil sets daily record of new coronavirus cases

BRASILIA - Brazil recorded a new daily record of coronavirus cases Wednesday with nearly 68,000 infections, a sign COVID-19 is still far from being brought under control in the hard-hit country.

The health ministry said 67,860 new infections and 1,284 deaths had been reported in the past 24 hours in Brazil, which has the second-biggest outbreak in the world, after the United States.

The South American country of 212 million people has recorded 2.2 million infections and 82,771 deaths from the new coronavirus.

It has struggled to set a strategy for responding to the pandemic.

President Jair Bolsonaro faces criticism for downplaying the virus and attacking social distancing measures adopted by state and local authorities.

The far-right leader, who has regularly flouted such measures, has been in quarantine at the presidential palace since July 7 after contracting the virus himself.

His office announced Wednesday he had again tested positive, saying he would continue his quarantine and suspend his upcoming travel plans.

Bolsonaro, 65, argues the economic fallout from stay-at-home measures could be worse than the virus itself, and is instead pushing the unproven malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as remedies, following in the footsteps of US President Donald Trump.

Agence France-Presse

Brazil's Bolsonaro says lungs 'clean' after coronavirus test

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday he had undergone another test for the novel coronavirus and his lungs were "clean," after local media reported he had symptoms associated with the COVID-19 respiratory disease.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly played down the impact of the virus, even as Brazil has suffered one of the world's worst outbreaks, with more than 1.6 million confirmed cases and 65,000 related deaths, according to official data on Monday.

CNN Brasil and newspaper Estado de S.Paulo reported that he had symptoms of the disease, such as a fever.

Bolsonaro told supporters outside the presidential palace that he had just visited the hospital and been tested.

"I can't get very close," he said in comments recorded by Foco do Brasil, a pro-government YouTube channel. "I came from the hospital. I underwent a lung scan. The lung's clean."

The president's office said in a statement that the president is at his home and is "in good health."

The right-wing populist has often defied local guidelines to wear a mask in public, even after a judge ordered him to do so in late June.

Over the weekend, Bolsonaro attended several events and was in close contact with the US ambassador to Brazil during July 4 celebrations. The US embassy in Brasilia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bolsonaro tested negative for the coronavirus after several aides were diagnosed following a visit to US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate in March.

CNN Brasil reported that Bolsonaro has begun taking the drugs hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, which he touts as a COVID-19 treatment despite little proof of their effectiveness.

Bolsonaro's official events on Tuesday have been canceled, according to CNN Brasil.

-reuters-

Brazil set to pass 1.5 million coronavirus cases; cities reopen anyway

SAO PAULO - Brazil was set to pass 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, as the virus continues to ravage Latin America's largest country even as cities reopen bars, restaurants and gyms sparking fears infections will keep rising.

Brazil has the world's second-largest outbreak after the United States and the virus has killed over 60,000 people in the country.

In Rio de Janeiro, crowds gathered to drink on the sidewalk of an upscale beach-side neighborhood on Thursday night, the first evening bars in the city were allowed to reopen.

Pictures of the revelry in Leblon, where few were wearing face masks and people were huddled close together, went viral on social media drawing condemnation and concern.

"A tragedy foretold," David Miranda, a federal congressman for Rio, wrote on Twitter above a picture of the crowded sidewalk. He criticized the city's mayor Marcelo Crivella.

"Crivella's decision to throw open the doors of business will come with a high cost," he added.

In an emailed statement, Crivella's office said local law enforcement had asked several establishments to close on Thursday as public health rules prohibit the gathering of crowds drinking outside bars. It said enforcement would be ramped up over the weekend.

In Rio alone, more than 6,600 people have died of COVID-19 in the past four months. Only 14 countries in the world have a death toll higher than the city. Intensive care units in public hospitals are at 70 percent capacity.

Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest and worst-hit city, is expected to open bars and restaurants next week.

President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely criticized by health experts for downplaying the severity of the virus which he has dismissed as just "a little flu." Bolsonaro has pressured governors and mayors for months to reverse lockdown measures and reopen the economy.

On Friday, Bolsonaro vetoed parts of a law that would have made wearing a face mask obligatory in enclosed spaces where large groups gather - such as churches and schools.

Bolsonaro has regularly flouted social distancing guidelines advised by most health experts, shaking hands and embracing supporters. He has said publicly that his past as an athlete makes him immune to the worst symptoms of the virus.

-reuters-

US facing 'critical' coronavirus surge

WASHINGTON, United States - Coronavirus infections are surging across large parts of the United States, the top US infectious disease expert has warned, as the death toll in Latin America passed 100,000.

The developments highlighted how far away the world remains from ending the pandemic, six months into a crisis that has claimed nearly 500,000 lives and devastated the global economy.

Even in Europe, which has been loosening travel restrictions following a brutal few months when it was the epicenter of the pandemic, there have been major setbacks.

Germany on Tuesday reimposed lockdowns on more than 600,000 people following a cluster of infections at a slaughterhouse, while world men's tennis number one Novak Djokovic tested positive after hosting an exhibition tournament in the Balkans.

In the United States, White House advisor Anthony Fauci warned the next two weeks would be "critical to our ability to address... surgings" in Florida, Texas and other states.

The United States has already recorded more deaths than any other nation, with nearly 800 more fatalities on Tuesday taking its toll past 121,000.

However President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis has been widely criticized as erratic, is determined to fast-track efforts to restore normality.

He continued to stoke controversy on Tuesday, doubling down on weekend comments he wanted to slow testing because so many confirmed infections made the United States look bad.

"I don't kid," Trump said, after a White House official described his initial comments as just a joke. 

With the parts of the United States unable to contain the pandemic, the European Union was considering blocking US travelers as it reopens its borders to tourism, the New York Times reported.

Reflecting the sentiments of many around the world, New York food shop manager Ian Joskowitz said he was determined not to think about the dangers of the virus as he tried to continue running his business. 

"If I thought about it too much, I probably may have a problem doing this. So I put it out of my mind," Joskowitz told AFP.

"With my employees, I have an agreement with them. They keep coming in. I'll continue to do everything humanly possible to keep them safe."

'LITTLE FLU'

Latin America has been one of the world's worst hotspots for weeks, and the number of deaths there and the Caribbean surpassed 100,000 on Tuesday, according to an AFP tally.

Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has flouted containment measures and described the virus as a "little flu", is officially the worst-hit country after the United States.

More than 1,300 people were confirmed to have died of the virus in Brazil on Tuesday, after a federal judge ordered Bolsonaro to wear a face mask in public.

"The president has a constitutional obligation to follow the laws in force in the country, as well as to promote the general welfare of the people," the judge wrote.

GERMAN SETBACK 

Germany was the first major EU nation to begin easing lockdown measures about seven weeks ago, but two districts in the west of the country were forced to apply the brakes once again.

An outbreak at a slaughterhouse that has infected more than 1,500 workers prompted authorities to impose fresh restrictions on nearly 640,000 people.

Portugal also imposed new restrictions in and around its capital Lisbon on Tuesday. 

And the future of sporting events suffered a major blow when Djokovic, who had organized a series of exhibition events in the Balkans at which social distancing was minimal, tested positive for the virus.

Tennis was hoping to follow team sports like football back into arenas and stadiums, but the positive tests of Djokovic and three others have dampened its prospects. 

"I am so deeply sorry our tournament has caused harm," the 17-time Grand Slam champion wrote on Twitter, adding, "It was too soon."

Agence France-Presse