Coronavirus in Brazil advances, governors take action

Residents of Rio lining up in front of a supermarket on May 8. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP

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With 751 more deaths in 24 hours, it's a new daily record in Brazil. The most affected country in Latin America now totals nearly 150,000 cases of contamination and nearly 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus. Faced with the inaction of Jair Bolsonaro, the governors take measures to slow progress.

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These figures would be far from reality, many experts believe because of the very low number of tests performed. The official figures released on Friday are by far the worst since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic in the largest country in South America: 751 dead and more than 10,000 new cases registered in 24 hours.

And if we stick to the overall figures, in the space of ten days the number of deaths has practically doubled, the fault of a lack of measures implemented at the national level. Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president, continues to turn a deaf ear to the alarms raised by the governors and the experts.

Five very affected states

Five states are particularly affected: São Paulo and Río de Janeiro which concentrate the two largest urbanizations in the country and the states of Pernambuco, Ceará and Amazonas. Five states with over 80% of cases and where the healthcare system is on the verge of implosion.

In Rio de Janeiro, 97% of the places in intensive care are occupied. What therefore obliged some governors announced the extension of the confinement as for example in Sao Paulo where it will remain in force until May 31.

The management of the epidemic also fears the worst among its neighbors, especially in Paraguay, a confined country, where, according to the president, Mario Abdo Benitez, half of the cases detected come from Brazil.

►Read also : Coronavirus: Brazil on the brink of "economic collapse" according to the minister

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► During the epidemic, the Amazon rainforest continues to burn

In the Amazon, deforestation continues, worse, it is accelerating. This is revealed by official Brazilian figures which show that we are moving towards a new record of destruction of the Amazon jungle. A destruction widely encouraged by the authorities, even if measures have been announced to fight against the phenomenon.

More than 1,200 square kilometers of forest have disappeared since January.
This is 55% more than last year at the same period whereas 2019 had already been the most devastating for the Amazon jungle, since the start of the monthly satellite observations carried out by the National Institute for Space Research of Brazil, in 2015.

This destruction is caused both by massive fires and by economic activities, including mining and agriculture. Activities encouraged by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, including in areas supposed to be protected.

Next Monday, the army will be deployed again to fight the fires. But the origin of these fires remains a source of controversy, since environmental organizations and researchers accuse illegal farmers and miners of being behind them.

Last year, more than 10,000 square meters of jungle had gone up in smoke, an area comparable to that of Lebanon. This had sparked outrage around the world. But this year, when the coronavirus crisis is drawing all the attention, the international turmoil is far from being as audible.

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  • Coronavirus
  • Brazil
  • Jair Bolsonaro

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