Brazil Facing Coronavirus Explosion; Protests Grow Against Virus-Skeptic Bolsonaro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro agreed to a third test for the novel coronavirus SARS-nCo-2 on Friday. Meanwhile, the right-wing politician no longer dismissed his potential infection. So far, 23 people who took part in Bolsonaro’s US trip earlier this month have tested positive for the virus.

The President conducted his first test on March 12th after his communications chief Fabio Wajngarten was diagnosed with the virus. The second test was conducted last Tuesday.

However, after the second test, the President had contact with at least one person diagnosed with the virus: the Minister of the Institutional Security Office, Augusto Heleno. Bolsonaro and Wajngarten have strongly denied the existence of SARS-nCo-2 on several occasions and have aggressively criticized media reports on the subject.

On Friday, Brazil announced the eighth death due to the Covid-19. The health authorities reported a number of 648 infected individuals. The number of suspected cases exceeds 9,000.

On Wednesday there were 529 infected and four dead. And the curve keeps rising. An international research group estimates that the number of infected people doubles every two days. This corresponds to the development in Italy at the onset of the epidemic.

By Tuesday, Brazil could see 3,400 confirmed coronavirus infections. Despite the expected increase in infections, the authorities only began to implement the first significant measures against the spread of the pathogen SARS-nCo-2 on Thursday.

On Thursday the government closed its land borders with a total of eight neighboring countries and on Friday it restricted air access. Accordingly, foreigners from China, the European Union, Australia, or Japan, are no longer allowed to enter the country as of Monday.

The Senate unanimously declared a state of public emergency on Friday. Congress, which met for the first time by video conference, thus relaxed the budget rules and enabled the government to override the limit on new debt. Most cities have ordered the closure of stores and parks.

Disinfectants and toilet paper are also sold out in many areas of Brazil. The governor of Rio de Janeiro decided to limit the amount and customers of restaurants to 30 percent.

The health system is ill-prepared for the expected massive increase in cases of the disease. On Friday it was announced that 60 percent of the country’s municipalities, with a population of some 34 million people, do not have ventilators.

Above all, there is a nationwide shortage of intensive care beds. Only one in ten cities in the country disposes of intensive care units to isolate the critically ill. Currently, there are only 482 municipalities with free space, which is only 8.6 percent of all municipalities. Currently, severe cases are already being “exported” to other municipalities.

Moreover, Latin America’s largest country has a total of 50,000 intensive care beds. But only 22,000 are in public health system hospitals (SUS). In contrast, the majority of these are owned by private hospitals, which are typically expensive. In view of the impending coronavirus surge, the Ministry of Health announced that it would rent beds in the private sector.

The city hall of São Paulo plans to set up 2,000 emergency beds in stadiums. São Paulo hospital staff reported that there is a severe shortage of gloves, masks, and disinfectants.

After the number of suspected Coronavirus cases quadrupled between Tuesday and Wednesday, affecting 16 high-ranking politicians and several celebrities, Bolsonaro’s government also seems to have reached a crisis point.

On Wednesday evening, Bolsonaro and his Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta warned of “difficult and hard days”. At the press conference, the Health Minister declared that the number of infected people would increase significantly.

As recently as the start of the week, the President repeatedly described the novel coronavirus as “fiction” and “fantasy” and took part in right-wing protests against Congress and the judiciary, hugged demonstrators and had himself photographed with them.

Bolsonaro’s casual approach to the virus threat has recently led supporters to distance themselves from him and take part in this week’s protests against him. “Because of him, many people are struggling to comply with the urgent sanitation measures, because he has created the impression that the coronavirus is nothing more than hysteria. He mocked the doctors,” says a surgeon who took to the streets in 2016 against then-President Dilma Rousseff of the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT) and is now demonstrating against Bolsonaro.

Most recently, on Wednesday night, there had been loud but contact-free protests against the government and in favor of Bolsonaro’s impeachment. Social movements and left-wing parties called for loud pot banging protests, during the president’s TV speech.

According to media reports, millions of Brazilians joined in from windows and balconies. In São Paulo the loud protest lasted 40 minutes. On the main roads of major cities, there were horns blowing for several minutes.

In addition to the health sector, the country’s economy also seems insufficiently prepared for the coming crisis. Measures for social isolation are threatening the self-employed.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, announced financial support of R$200 (US$40) per month for the self-employed. But this sum is only a drop in the ocean when compared to average rent payments of R$850.

Moreover, the more than 40 million self-employed persons in the so-called casual sector, particularly housemaids or street vendors, remain excluded from state aid, confirms the president of the non-governmental organization for domestic workers, the ‘Instituto Doméstica Legal’, Mario Avelino.

The virus is severely affecting low-income groups financially. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 70 percent of the 6.24 million housemaids work on a daily basis and without a contract.

“They enjoy no protection (in the crisis), they do not exist for the government”, says Avelino. And yet they are the first to lose their jobs because their employers followed the rules of social distancing, he summarizes in a week of dismissals.

The government’s inability to adjust to the crisis is also reflected in the constant back and forth surrounding the President’s infection. According to Bolsonaro himself, his second test was negative.

But he has long refused to disclose the samples. “Maybe I’ll run a new test. Maybe I’ll get medical advice,” he speculated about his potential infection until he was ready for a third test.

By the end of last week, news of an infection had spread to the head of state. Earlier it was announced that members of his delegation had become infected by the Covid-19 during a state visit to the USA in early March.

On Friday, the government confirmed four more infections, bringing their number to 23. Among them were the Secretary of State for Communications, Fabio Wajngarten, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, and Bolsonaro’s closest confidant and head of the security staff, General Augusto Heleno.