São Paulo Government Says Covid Contagion Higher in December Than First Peak

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The São Paulo government said on Thursday, December 10th, that the chance of infection by Covid-19 is higher than at the first peak of the pandemic in July.

“From a medical standpoint, each of us has been observing a growing number of people with Covid around us. So the chance of contagion is much higher than when the first peak occurred,” said José Medina, coordinator of the Covid-19 contingency center.

“So this calls for great care throughout the month of December. First we must return to the staying at home measure and we must change the ‘happy holidays’ greetings to ‘stay home’. We need to embrace a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year as we used to do in the past, with no partying, no gift swapping and no crowding,” said the coordinator of the Covid-19 contingency center.

Moreover, Medina reported that the average of new cases of the disease has grown from 20,000 to 40,000 cases between November and December in Brazil, and that the same increase occurred in three months at the first peak of the pandemic.

“If we look at the growth curve in the number of cases in Brazil to reach 20,000 to 40,000, it took almost three months to double the number of cases in Brazil, this second peak that started in November through December took a month to grow from 20,000 to 40,000 cases,” said Medina.

The coordinator of the Covid-19 Contingency Center attributed the faster growth over the past month to a higher number of infectious agents.

“So, the growth of this second peak is much higher because the infectious base is much higher. We all remember that at first there was a region with a certain number of cases, while other states, other regions of the state of São Paulo did not have a single case. Today, every Brazilian city has at least one patient, there is more than one infected patient who is a contagious patient,” he said.

State Health Secretary Jean Gorinchteyn said that the increase in the rolling average of deaths, hospitalizations and cases in Brazil shows that “unfortunately we are still experiencing a pandemic.”

“Brazil currently totals 6.728,452 cases, with 178,995 deaths, proving that unfortunately we are still experiencing a pandemic and a pandemic that over the last three days has shown an increase in the rolling average of deaths, hospitalizations and cases. So not only are we not at the end of the pandemic, but we must be alert to the speed of new cases and deaths as well as hospitalizations,” said Gorinchteyn.

São Paulo Governor João Doria said he was concerned with the situation and announced that a new press conference has been scheduled for Friday, December 11th, to discuss the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the state.

“We are concerned, I want to say that there is concern from the São Paulo state government in relation to the country, but obviously our responsibility lies with São Paulo with respect to the increase in infections, ICU bed occupancy and also deaths. All of this will be presented tomorrow,” he said.

Less than 20 days before Christmas, thousands of people crowded the streets of Brás, in downtown São Paulo, on Wednesday, December 9th. In addition to lines outside stores, people were seen walking around the premises with no masks or using them incorrectly.

Doria also urged traders and entrepreneurs to help prevent crowds and that people should not forget the significance of wearing masks and using hand sanitizer.

“Above all I want to use the opportunity to call for the solidarity of people, families, fathers, mothers, grandparents, also entrepreneurs, please help us, help us to save lives, do not promote crowds, encourage the wearing of masks, the mask is mandatory in the state of São Paulo, in all circumstances,” said Doria.

José Medina also said that people can visit their relatives during this period, but must not forget the protocol that includes the wearing of masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing.

“This doesn’t mean we can’t visit our grandparents, our parents during this season. As long as this visit is conducted according to the protocol, as commerce in general is following: I wear a mask, I keep my distance and a short exposure time that reduces the risk of infection,” he said.