SAO PAULO, June 2 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Sao Paulo City health authorities have advised the citizenry Wednesday to go back to wearing facemasks in indoor settings due to the increase of COVID-19 cases recorded in recent weeks. The measure will only be mandatory “in health facilities and in public transport such as buses, trains, and subways.”
The average number of infected people in the last week was 26,206, the highest since March 30, with an increase of 48% from two weeks ago.
The State of Sao Paulo’s Scientific Committee also recommended municipalities return to the face-covering sanitary strategy. Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the most populated state in the country went up 120% in May, while in the state capital they rose 252%.
According to University of Sao Paulo researchers, Brazil might be going through a fourth wave of the disease.
Brazil registered 41,486 new infections Tuesday, bringing the cumulative number for the whole country since February 2020 to 31,016,354, with a weekly average of 26,206, the highest since March 30.
In the city of Sao Paulo, the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests was 4% between April 24 and 30, while by May 30, it had jumped to 18%. South America’s largest urban nucleus of over 12 million people made Tuesday’s decisions following the State authority’s recommendations, it was reported by the Mayor’s Office.
The measure seeks to protect the population, City Health Secretary Luiz Zamarco explained. He also asked people to complete their vaccination cycles.
Brazil is the country with the second-highest number of deaths associated with the new coronavirus, after the United States, and the third-highest number of infections, after the United States and India.
Meanwhile, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has warned of a rise in respiratory viruses in the Americas in addition to SARS-CoV-2. Cases of COVID-19 in the Americas rose 10.4% last week over the previous week, but other respiratory infections also increased in the region.
“Countries should expand surveillance to monitor other respiratory viruses, not just COVID-19,” PAHO Director Carissa Etienne told reporters.
Last week, 1,087,390 cases and 4,155 deaths from covid-19 were reported throughout the Americas, a 10.4% increase in the number of infections and a 14% increase in deaths. South America reported the highest increase in cases (+43.1%) and Central America the highest increase in deaths (+21.3%).
Other respiratory viruses, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children, are also of concern to PAHO, the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Etienne also noted that since the emergence of the new coronavirus in 2020, influenza infections had been “exceptionally low,” but in 2022, influenza virus circulation increased “and not only during the traditional flu season.”
Mexico and Peru have had a higher number of influenza cases than expected, and Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay reported more hospitalizations than usual due to influenza.
Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic are also experiencing sudden spikes of RSV virus in young children, in some cases requiring hospitalization.
“Many places face the dual threat of a potential surge in influenza along with an increase in covid-19 cases, which will put healthcare workers, the elderly, and pregnant women at additional risk,” Etienne pointed out. “Some countries are facing a triple threat, with the addition of a wave of RSV in children,” she explained.
Etienne underlined that the same measures against COVID-19 work to prevent influenza. She also urged people to take shots against both viruses. — NNN-MERCOPRESS
