São Paulo considers implementing “purple” phase against pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The São Paulo state government is considering decreeing a purple phase against the covid-19 pandemic. It is an even more restrictive phase than the current red one, which has never been implemented in a year spent fighting Covid-19.

The purple phase may be announced between this Wednesday and Friday and would come into force on Saturday across the state. It includes reduced working hours for essential activities, such as bakeries, supermarkets and gas stations, as well as the total suspension of religious and sports events, such as the São Paulo soccer championship.

In addition, the government should use schools to set up field hospitals, as there is not enough time to erect tents, as was the case in the first wave of the pandemic. São Paulo is currently registering an average of 81% ICU bed occupancy, but hospitals in 32 cities are at full capacity. Approximately 120 patients are demanding ICUs per day. Thirty people in the waiting list have died in the state in recent days.

Brazil continues to set new records for deaths and infections caused by the pandemic. On Tuesday, the country set a new daily death record, 1,972, in addition to 65,537 new infections. Brazil totals 268,568 deaths and 11,125,017 cases, according to the media outlet consortium. The state of Sao Paulo counts 2,134,020 cases, and 62,101 confirmed deaths, 517 of which occurred on Tuesday.

Other states are also implementing increasingly restrictive measures to tackle covid-19. Minas Gerais, for example, which introduced the purple phase last week, reports that 23% of hospitalizations are among 30- to 39-year-olds. There, 194 of the 853 municipalities are under this new, more restrictive phase. Rio Grande do Sul also implemented the purple restriction phase.

Experts continue to point out that the new variants, coupled with the crowding of youths, are an explosive combination that has increased the number of cases and hospitalizations among the youngest.

The information is from CBN radio.