Brazil sets daily COVID-19 death record, Senate to investigate Bolsonaro government’s response

BRAZIL (Reuters) – Brazil set a daily record of 4,249 deaths due to COVID-19 on Thursday, with overwhelmed hospitals consuming resources and the Senate to open an inquiry into the response of President Jair Bolsonaro’s government, which minimized the pandemic from the beginning.

Brazil is approaching the one-day record set by the United States on January 20 out of 4,405 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brazil’s outburst is out of control, vaccines are few and Bolsonaro is fighting blockages.

The public health system has shown increasing signs of buckling under pregnancy, and a survey by the National Association of Private Hospitals (ANAHP) this week suggests even the richest hospitals in need of critical drugs.

Three of four private hospitals said they have a week or less of supplies for COVID-19 treatment, including oxygen, anesthesia and essential drugs for intubation, according to the ANAHP survey of 88 member hospitals in Brazil.

Bolsonaro’s government has downplayed the risk of hospitals running out of drugs as the right-wing leader tries to allay fears about the virus, while lashing out at state and local efforts to restrict traffic.

“Let’s not cry over spilled milk. We are still going through a pandemic that is, in part, used politically – not to defeat the virus, but to bring down the president, “Bolsonaro said in a public address on Wednesday. “In what country on earth do people not die? Unfortunately, people are dying everywhere. ”

Brazil’s Senate plans to set up a special commission next week to investigate the government’s response to the pandemic, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said.

A Supreme Court judge ruled on Thursday that the Senate should install the committee, which Pacheco has tried to postpone, although it has already been approved by a sufficient number of senators.

While saying he would abide by the rule of law, Pacheco said it was too early to investigate while Brazil was still facing a crisis and that the committee would endanger the health of members as its meetings were held in person.

More than 345,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, becoming the second deadliest outbreak after the United States, with a population about 50 percent larger at about 330 million.

Brazil’s Supreme Court also ruled Thursday that state and municipal bans on religious assemblies were legal, in a coup against Bolsonaro, who called them an attack on religious freedom.

As Brazil suffers the worst from the pandemic, the country has become a testing ground for new vaccines.

The health regulator, Anvisa, on Thursday approved the fifth late-stage study for a coronavirus vaccine, offering a study by Medicago R&D Inc. of Canada and GlaxoSmithKline PLC.

Anvisa said the companies were authorized to conduct phase 3 studies in Brazil. The companies are recruiting about 3,500 Brazilian volunteers for this study, which will include about 30,000 people in the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America.