The Brazilian capital Brasilia will enter on Saturday with 24 blockages as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations will increase, Reuters reports.
Why does it matter: Hospitals in Brasilia, Brazil’s third-largest city, have struggled to keep up with hospitalizations caused by the virus. More than 80 percent of the city’s intensive care beds are occupied, according to Reuters.
Details: Shops, pharmacies, gas stations, churches and funeral homes will remain open because they are considered essential services, but all other services will be closed, according to Reuters.
- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who lives and works in Brasilia, threatened on Friday that he would suspend federal funding for states implementing blockades, saying they would destroy jobs.
The whole picture: ICU beds in the capitals of 17 of Brazil’s 26 states reached their most critical level since the pandemic began a year ago, according to Reuters.
- Brazil reported 65,169 new cases and 1,337 deaths caused by the virus in the last 24 hours.
- In all, the virus killed more than 252,830 people in Brazil, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.