What's in it for FinTech startups in events like Biban24    Al Nassr and Al Hilal share points in intense Riyadh Derby draw    SFDA chief discusses investment opportunities in food and pharmaceutical sectors with Chinese companies    Riyadh's Sports Boulevard receives Platinum ActiveScore certifications    ImpaQ: Riyadh to host first Impact Makers Forum in December    Saudi Arabia ranks 12th globally in international visitor spending in 2023    Saudi Red Crescent air ambulance rescues injured camel herder in Qassim desert    Saudi Arabia refutes claims of rising worker fatalities, highlighting low work-related death rates    US says around 8,000 troops from North Korea are stationed in Russia's Kursk region    Spain mourns as death toll passes 150 in catastrophic floods    Seven killed in Israel in deadliest Hezbollah rocket strikes in months    Rapper Young Thug released from US jail after guilty plea on gang charges    Cyclists on phones face jail under Japan's new traffic laws    Hidden sugars in Asia's baby food spark concerns    Saleh Al Shehri strike seals Al Ittihad's Sea Derby win over Al Ahli    HONOR unveils pre-order of the stunning HONOR MagicBook Art 14 Featuring an ultra-slim design, HONOR Eye Comfort Display and AI Cross-OS WorkStation    Derby Week makes its debut in the Roshn Saudi League    Al Nassr eliminated from King's Cup after a defeat to Al Taawoun    Teri Garr, Young Frankenstein and Tootsie star, dies at 79    Indonesia Days event celebrates cultural diversity at Al Suwaidi Park    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Brazil's COVID-19 resurgence is pushing hospitals to overflowing
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 16 - 03 - 2021

Brazil is pulling ahead in the race that no one wants to win.
Over the past month, the South American nation has blown past a series of grisly milestones, repeatedly setting new records for most Covid-19 deaths per day. In the past week, it set another record: 12,818 new deaths and more than 464,000 new cases, according to Johns Hopkins University figures — signs of a viral spread outpacing even that of the United States, the only country in the world harder hit by the pandemic in absolute numbers.
On the outskirts of Sao Paulo, the crisis is turning things upside down for the small Dr. Akira Tada Emergency Hospital. In normal times, doctors there would stabilize critically ill patients and then send them on to bigger and better-equipped hospitals with intensive care units (ICUs).
But these are not normal times. Few hospitals today have space to take in new patients, even in Brazil's richest and most populous state.
When Dineia Martins Firmino entered the hospital at the beginning of March, doctors intubated the 74-year-old, and told her family that she desperately needed to be moved to an ICU for more sophisticated treatment, according to her granddaughter Pamela Rivitti, 30.
She never made it off the official, government-run list for transfer. "No vacancy appeared at the time she needed it and she ended up dying on Saturday," said Rivitti. "We did the funeral on Sunday."
The ferocious new wave of the coronavirus that claimed Firmino's life is inundating intensive care beds in São Paulo and across the country.
As of Sunday, 21 Brazilian states and the Federal District had an ICU occupancy rate of over 80 percent. Of those, 14 were on the verge of collapsing with an occupation above 90 percent.
In the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, ICUs are so overloaded that the largest public hospital treating COVID-19 cases in state capital Porto Alegre said Sunday it was forced to close its doors to new patients.
"The hospital's ICU Covid ward already serves at 132 percent occupancy," hospital management at Porto Alegre Hospital das Clinicas said in a statement.
With packed wards comes surging demand for oxygen and other basic necessities. To the north, Rondonia state is at 97.6 percent ICU occupancy and the Attorney General's Office has warned that local oxygen supplies could run out in just two weeks.
The state is facing an "imminent risk of oxygen shortage," the letter read — a reminder of an earlier crisis in the city of Manaus, the Amazonas state capital, where hospitals ran out of oxygen in January with lethal consequences.
Faced with criticism of its pandemic management, including from former President Lula da Silva, Brazil's federal government has pointed to a new and possibly more contagious local coronavirus variant, which is currently spreading through the country and even abroad.
But experts also blame the spread on Brazilians' failure to follow mask and social distancing guidelines, encouraged by President Jair Bolsonaro, who derides precautionary measures as dangerous for the economy and social stability. In Sao Paulo, officials have resorted to the whack-a-mole tactic of raiding nightlife hotspots to disperse gatherings of hundreds, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, despite a robust historic vaccination track record, Brazil's national rollout of Covid-19 vaccines been slow. Just 1.4 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Brazilian Health Minister Pazuello, himself currently under investigation for his handling of the Manaus crisis, recently estimated that 22 to 25 million doses would be available in March -- a sharp drop from earlier predictions that up to 46 million vaccine doses would be available this month.
The federal government is negotiating new vaccine deals, including a purchase order for the Russian-made Sputnik V. But shortages persist for now. In the coastal city of Rio de Janeiro, officials have already been forced to suspend the administration of first doses. The campaign will restart once more vaccines become available through Brazil's health ministry, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said. — Courtesy CNN


Clic here to read the story from its source.