Brazil Reports New Record of Covid Daily Cases With 13,944
Brazil Reports New Record of Covid Daily Cases With 13,944
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil reported the biggest daily jump in coronavirus cases yet as the pandemic shows no signs of slowing in Latin America’s largest economy.
The Health Ministry reported 13,944 new cases on Thursday, solidifying the country as the new global hot spot for the disease. The number of infections has more than doubled in the past two weeks, pushing the total to 202,918 -- figures health officials say likely don’t fully reflect the situation amid a widespread lack of testing in the nation home to 210 million people.
Brazil also registered 844 new deaths, pushing the total to 13,993. Last week, the country surpassed the U.K.’s daily death toll, trailing only the U.S. in terms of recorded daily deaths. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects Brazil’s death toll may reach nearly 90,000 by early August.
Mayors and governors have increased restrictions as the surge continues and infections begin to pop up at ports and offshore oil platforms. Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the states hardest-hit by the pandemic, extended quarantines until May 31. Cities in the country’s poorer North and Northeastern regions, with health systems that were already overwhelmed before coronavirus arrived, have implemented even tighter lockdowns.
The tougher restrictions put local governments directly at odds with President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been pushing to get people back to work to ease the economic cost of the pandemic. This week Bolsonaro, who often mingles with supporters and called the virus “just a flu,” added beauty salons and gyms to a list of essential businesses that could reopen, deepening the clash and adding to political tensions. On Thursday, he said the economy is “being shattered” by isolation measures and that lockdowns would lead Brazil to failure.
Schroders warned that the country could be the last to exit social isolation measures, and that signs of a premature exit from lockdown would be a “major red flag.”
“Anti-lockdown protests and friction between central and state governments suggest lockdown fatigue,” London-based economist Piya Sachdeva wrote in a note. “If this were to result in measures being rolled back, this would be a major red flag for a second wave.”
Early economic indicators also paint a dire picture: Industrial production sank 9% in March, and April vehicle production was the lowest since 1957. Forecasts show GDP contracting as much as 7% this year, with unemployment potentially doubling. On Wednesday the government cut its own 2020 forecast to -4.7%, and said GDP could fall 6% if the quarantine is kept in place until June.
While balancing health and economic crises is a global challenge, Brazil faces its own set of issues. The government can’t afford to provide large aid packages to the poor or to companies. With about 25% of the population in poverty, many can’t afford not to work and live in cramped quarters that make social distancing nearly impossible.
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