Brazil Not Planning to Repatriate Brazilians Living in Italy

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, João Gabbardo Reis, has dismissed repatriating isolated Brazilians in Italy following the widening of the quarantine area to try to counter the spread of the new coronavirus in the European country.

“There is no possibility on the radar for the repatriation of those who are in Italy,” said the secretary on Monday.

In February, the Brazilian government repatriated a group of some 30 Brazilians and their families living in the city of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Gabbardo Reis also said it was unlikely that Brazil would adopt a similar measure if the new coronavirus spread in the country; he classified the Italians’ decision as “extremely radical”.

He recalled that Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta had been “completely opposed” to such a measure. “It could not prevent the spread and the effects (of the extended quarantine) could be just as harmful or more so for the population than the spread of the virus itself,” the executive secretary said.

According to the Ministry of Health, the next two to four weeks “will be crucial” for assessing the behavior of the coronavirus in Brazil.

The Health Surveillance Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Wanderson Oliveira, stated that he believes it is possible to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Brazil.

“The World Health Organization has repeatedly stated this. It’s a pandemic, but it may be the first pandemic we will be able to contain. So we hope it’s possible to contain it. However, if we detect community transmission, the argument is not supported by the very nature of the disease. Let us wait,” he said.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo