Brazil, Lacking Equipment, Leads World in Nurses’ Deaths by Covid-19

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The coronavirus has killed more nurses in Brazil than anywhere else in the world as the pandemic spreads in the country.

The Federal Nursing Council (COFEN) says there are more than 15,000 nurses infected with Covid-19, which, according to the council, represents almost 40 percent of the global number of cases. By Wednesday, 137 nurses had died. Walquirio Almeida, COFEN’s spokesperson, associates the high number of deaths with the lack of equipment and medical team preparation.

“The numbers are very alarming, we did not expect so many,” Almeida said in an interview. “The situation will only improve if the authorities take effective and swift action.”

Brazil has become an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, second only to Russia and the United States in terms of the number of cases. Infections break records almost daily and reached 291,579 on Wednesday, according to government data.

The situation is compounded by a public health system that was already on the verge of collapse in several states, different measures by local governments, and a large part of the population that is unable to remain at home.

The equipment purchased by the federal government has taken a long time to reach the states, and governors have struggled to secure medical supplies given the increased global demand.

Nearly half of nurses’ deaths have been recorded in the States of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, some of the most affected by the disease, which has killed more than 20,000 people in the country. The majority of nurses who died were aged between 41 and 50, according to the data.

The International Council of Nurses said earlier this month that over 260 nurses in 30 countries have died, and at least 90,000 health professionals have been infected with Covid-19.

Source: Bloomberg

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