BRASILIA – Health systems in most of Brazil’s largest cities are close to collapse due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, a report by the country’s Fiocruz institute said.
The Rio de Janeiro-based institute said more than 80 percent of intensive care unit (ICU) beds are occupied in the capitals of 25 of Brazil’s 27 states.
On Tuesday the country recorded 1,972 COVID-19 deaths, a new daily record. Brazil has recorded more than 266,000 deaths and 11 million cases since the pandemic began.
According to Fiocruz, 15 state capitals have ICUs that are at more than 90 percent capacity including Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, and São Paulo.
Two cities – Porto Alegre and Campo Grande – have exceeded ICU capacity.
In its report it warned that figures pointed to the “overload and even collapse of health systems”.(BBC)
