Brazil Passes 200,000 Deaths Milestone with 1,524 Fatalities in 24 Hours (January 7th)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil, one of the most affected countries by the pandemic, on Thursday, January 7th, reported 87,843 new infections of the novel coronavirus and 1,524 Covid-19-related deaths.

These data represent an increase in the daily number of cases and deaths, given that on Wednesday 1,242 deaths and 63,430 cases were reported.

In total, the country has recorded 7,961,673 cases and 200,498 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The up-to-date government data shows that 7,096,931 people have already recovered from the disease. A total of 664,244 are under follow-up.

Between Wednesday and Thursday, 87,843 new positive diagnoses were confirmed, the highest figure ever in the pandemic. The previous day in which most cases were added to the statistics had been December 16th, 2020, with 70,574.

Among the states with the highest number of deaths, São Paulo (47,768) tops the list, followed by Rio de Janeiro (26,292), Minas Gerais (12,366), Ceará (10,096) and Pernambuco (9,763). The states with fewest deaths are all sparsely populated: Roraima (793), Acre (821), Amapá (956), Tocantins (1,257) and Rondônia (1,890).

The National Council of Health Secretaries (CONASS) classified this as a “sad mark”. According to the secretaries, the National Health System (SUS) has demonstrated how necessary it is for the population. But the organization alerts that there are several challenges ahead.

“We need to be attentive to all steps to acquire supplies essential to the initiative’s success, with syringes and needles. Right now, there is enough stock to meet the demands of the first phase of the initiative. However, a national purchase by the Ministry of Health must be made in quantities that ensure vaccination against Covid-19 and the replacement of stocks that need to be reallocated,” CONASS notes.

On Wednesday, during a radio and TV address, Health Minister Pazuello stated that the government has guaranteed the availability of 354 million doses of vaccines, from three laboratories, for the immunization of the Brazilian population in 2021.

Moreover, the Minister said that “there are currently some 60 million syringes and needles available to begin vaccinating the population later this month of January.” “We have also been assured by the Pan American Health Organization [PAHO] that we will receive another eight million syringes and needles in February, in addition to another 30 million already requested from ABIMO [Brazilian Association of Medical and Dental Items and Equipment], the association of syringe producers.”

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