HOSPITALS IN RICH BRAZILIAN STATE FACE `COLLAPSE'

SAO PAULO Brazil's richest and most populous state, Sao Paulo, has warned its ability to care for seriously ill COVID-19 patients was on the verge of collapse as it ran perilously low on key drugs, according to a letter to the federal government seen by the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

Sao Paulo state said it expects to run out of crucial intubation drugs, needed to sedate patients, in the next few days, the paper reported on Wednesday.

“The supply situation regarding drugs, mainly neuromuscular blockers and sedatives, is very serious,” Sao Paulo Health Secretary Jean Gorinchteyn reportedly wrote. “Collapse is imminent.”

Gorinchteyn confirmed the letter in a news conference on Wednesday.

The situation in Sao Paulo, which has one of Brazil's most sophisticated public hospital networks, is a dire indication of the strain on Brazil's health-care system.

Brazil accounts for about a quarter of daily deaths attributed to the virus worldwide.