Curbs ignored as Brazil faces growing crisis
Authorities in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro begged the population to stay home, but thousands of Brazilians traveled to coastal cities over the weekend and ignored recommendations decreed to contain surging coronavirus infections in the country.
Brazil’s two biggest cities imposed extensive controls on nonessential activities. But many scenes in Brazilian cities showed the difficulty that authorities are facing in enlisting the cooperation of the population to contain the spread of the virus. In Sao Sebastiao, a city on the Sao Paulo coast, tourists destroyed barriers installed at beaches to limit crowds.
“Don’t come to the coast. We depend on tourism, but right now we depend on health. We need to avoid an even bigger collapse,” said the city’s mayor, Felipe Augusto.
In Ubatuba, another of the main cities on the Sao Paulo coast, residents burned tires on a road to try to prevent an influx of visitors.
Restrictions on activity implemented last year were halfhearted and sabotaged by President Jair Bolsonaro, who sought to stave off economic doom. He remains unconvinced of any need for clampdown, fearful that the damage to the economy could generate more unemployment and social chaos.
Brazil currently accounts for onequarter of the entire world’s daily COVID19 deaths, far more than any other nation, and health experts are warning that the country is on the verge of even greater calamity.
The health system is already buckling, with almost all states’ intensive care units near or at capacity. On Sunday 92.6% of ICU beds were occupied in Sao Paulo, while Rio state had an occupancy of 92%.