With new record of Covid-19 cases and restriction on trade in São Paulo, governor lowers taxes

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The target of protests last weekend and faced with the likelihood that even stricter restrictions will be implemented in the coming days due to the coronavirus pandemic, São Paulo governor João Doria focused on the state’s productive sectors and on Wednesday, March 17th, announced tax exemptions and more credit for commercial businesses.

The measure also seems to pave the way for a more restrictive phase in the state, which registered a new record of Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours (17,942) and maintained a high number of deaths (617 in 24 hours).

The more restrictive social isolation phase, started three days ago, has not yet reached acceptable levels in reducing circulation: isolation in the state on Tuesday reached a rate of only 44%, far from the numbers recorded at the start of the pandemic, when it reached 60%.

Earlier in the morning, Doria said in an interview to BandNews radio that “additional measures to fight the novel coronavirus” would be announced at Wednesday’s press conference. The announcement led to speculation that a lockdown would be implemented in the state, following the example of what is already occurring in some São Paulo municipalities.

However, at the press conference, he said that this would not be the case, and Paulo Menezes, coordinator of the State’s Covid-19 Contingency Center, said that potentially more favorable measures are still under discussion.

“We are in the third day of the emergency phase, we want the situation to improve immediately, but it doesn’t happen that way,” he said, considering that waiting for the results of the measures started last Monday is necessary. Results are expected to be noticed within 15 days.

After the morning interview, Doria and his secretaries met with representatives of the state’s productive sectors, which in recent days have criticized the new restrictions adopted. Since Monday, all non-essential activities have been closed. For instance, for the first time, construction material stores are banned, as is the collection of food from restaurants (only the delivery system is authorized).

Offices that do not operate essential activities are also banned. After the meeting, the governor announced that the ICMS (Value-Added Tax on Sales and Services) on milk will be eliminated and that there will be a reduction from 13.3% to 7% on beef, pork, and chicken when purchased for resale. There will also be an additional R$100 (US$18) million in credit for micro-entrepreneurs and a prohibition against cutting off water and gas supply to trade and services sectors for non-payment will be in force until April 30th.

With curfews and restrictions on beaches, parks and churches, as well as the pledge of increased surveillance to curb non-essential activities, the São Paulo government announced the emergency phase a week ago, the most restrictive stage of quarantine in the state since the start of the pandemic. That week, São Paulo recorded an ICU bed occupancy rate of 87.6%, over 2,000 people in line for a bed, and an average of over 300 daily deaths.

“Brazil is collapsing and, if we don’t stop the virus, it will not be different in São Paulo. We will need to implement more restrictive measures. It is the only way, at this time, to contain the surge in deaths,” governor Doria said at the time. “No governor likes to stop economic activities,” he conceded.

On Wednesday, ICU bed occupancy in the state reached 89.9%, with 10,756 patients, in addition to another 14,236 in wards. The number of patients in intensive care is 68% higher than on February 22nd, i.e., less than a month ago. The daily rolling average of hospitalizations increased by 6.4% (2,760) compared to the preceding week, while the number of deaths increased by 7% (389).

“The faster spread of the virus goes along with people not behaving appropriately,” justified state Health Secretary Jean Gorinchteyn. “Every day that I look at the numbers I feel more sad. It is a dramatic situation,” vented Menezes, the Contingence Center coordinator. On Tuesday, the state hit a record number of deaths, with 679 registered in 24 hours.

Compliance with the restrictive measures implemented since Monday remains low, despite the projection that they would take approximately 4.5 million people off the streets in the metropolitan region. On Monday, the isolation rate reached 43% and downtown São Paulo still had long lines at bus stops, crowded subways, and busy commercial streets. On Tuesday, the rate reached 44%.

“We need an isolation rate of over 50% in the state,” acknowledged Menezes, who nevertheless pointed out that there was a 61% decrease in the number of passengers on public transportation. “We are making progress, but it is not enough.”

Last Thursday, March 11th, 53 of São Paulo’s 654 municipalities saw their health systems collapse due to the novel coronavirus. In the western part of the state, some cities have already implemented a complete lockdown, with a full restriction on circulation. Ribeirão Preto, São José do Rio Preto and 11 other nearby cities have extended restrictions this week in public transportation and public services.

The measures in these cities are effective as of Wednesday, March 17th. These cities are following the example of Araraquara, where even gas stations and banks were closed. The lockdown in the city occurred between February 21st and March 2nd. On the first day with tighter restrictions, the daily rolling average of new cases stood at 189.5. On March 10th, days after the end of the lockdown, the number stood at 108 (a drop of 43%). In the period, the number of patients hospitalized in the city’s public and private hospitals peaked at 247. In the week after the lockdown ended, there were 177 patients hospitalized (a 28% reduction), according to the city hall.

São Paulo had been registering an increase in the severity of the pandemic since the start of the year, with consecutive records of deaths and ICU hospitalizations since February. Yet, despite warnings from his technical staff that there would be a collapse in the healthcare network, João Doria chose not to introduce tougher restrictions until March 3rd, when he announced the red phase.

However, this stage still allowed crowds on beaches, collective sports activities, church services, and the opening of schools, measures that were only corrected in the emergency phase.

Source: El Pais