RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro State Prosecutor’s Office (MPRJ) recommended that Governor Wilson Witzel and Mayor Marcelo Crivella conduct studies to determine the feasibility of enforcing a complete lockdown of the city and state of Rio de Janeiro, as an extreme measure to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The measure is considered the highest level of health safety and can be enforced in situations of serious threat to the Health System. The city announced this week that there are no more beds available in the municipal hospital network to admit Covid-19 patients. Last week, the government reported that the state network was close to its limit. Field hospitals announced by both branches are not yet fully operational.
In case of a lockdown, all entrances to the perimeter set for the blockade are controlled by security professionals and no one is allowed in or out. The aim is to interrupt all activities for a short period of time, which is an effective measure for reducing the case curve and reorganizing the system.
According to the MPRJ, the countries that have enforced a lockdown managed to overcome the most critical moment of the pandemic faster. In Brazil, the measure has already been enforced in the metropolitan region of São Luiz in Maranhão, and Fortaleza, in Ceará.
The MPRJ’s recommendation emphasizes a document from the Ministry of Health that recommends non-pharmacological measures to tackle the pandemic, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The international organization, together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), points Latin America as the new epicenter of contagion of the disease.
According to the MPRJ, the Ministry of Health also considers the state of Rio de Janeiro to be one of the most critical hotspots of the disease in Brazil, with a Covid-19 incidence rate in the population 50 percent above the national average. The state of emergency in the state of Rio de Janeiro was decreed on March 17th.
The request for a study was made following a videoconference meeting of the MPRJ’s Crisis Response Bureau with several areas of the state government and with the Public Defender’s Office, which discussed the inspection of social isolation measures in place.
According to the MPRJ, social isolation measures must be extended, as well as social assistance, in addition to promoting awareness campaigns for the population to comply with such measures.
In the recommendation issued by Prosecutor-General Eduardo Gussem, dated May 5th, the government was granted 72 hours to submit the study. The deadline for the city hall is 48 hours. Should it not be met, the MPRJ may bring a public civil action for the lockdown to be enforced.
The recommendation stresses that the expert study must be “based on scientific evidence and on studies regarding strategic health data, epidemiological monitoring, urban mobility, public safety, and social assistance,” in order to support the decision on whether or not to enforce a total lockdown.
In a note, city hall reported that Mayor Marcelo Crivella may order a lockdown “in a number of more critical areas, where crowding persists” if required.
The note mentions locations such as Bangu, Santa Cruz and Campo Grande neighborhoods. “We don’t want to do that, but if necessary we will deploy the Municipal Guard 24 hours a day in order to isolate these areas,” said the Mayor.
The city said it has taken several measures to prevent crowds, such as closing roads, alerting the population, the ‘Disk Aglomeração’ (hotline for reporting crowds), and published decrees establishing rules for social isolation and preventing crowds.
The state government has not yet commented on the potential for a total lockdown.
Source: Agência Brasil