Brazil Surpasses 120,000 COVID Deaths

Just over six months after the first case of the latest coronavirus was identified, Brazil crossed the grim threshold of 120,000 people killed by COVID on Saturday 19, with no end in sight to the crisis.

The country of 212 million citizens has now reported 120,262 deaths from the virus and 3,846,153 infections, according to the Health Ministry's daily update.

Brazil is also the second nation to exceed the death rate of 120,000 in a pandemic, following the United States, where more than 182,000 civilians are injured.

Unlike in Europe and Asia, where the virus struck hard and then subsided, Brazil's epidemic is moving at a sluggish yet destructive rate, said Christovam Barcellos, a researcher at Fiocruz Public Health Institute.

“Brazil is unique in the world. Since the start of the pandemic, its curve has been different from other countries’, much slower,” he told AFP.

“It has stabilized now, but at a very dangerous level: nearly 1,000 deaths and 40,000 cases per day…. And Brazil still isn’t past the peak.”

– ‘Total lack of coordination’ –

Brazil confirmed its first case of the virus on 26 February, when a businessman from Sao Paulo returned from a trip to Italy. His first death was registered on March 16.

The pandemic soon turned political in Latin America's largest country.

President Jair Bolsonaro denounced the "hysteria" surrounding the outbreak and criticized governors and mayors who had implemented lockout initiatives, claiming that the economic harm would be greater than the epidemic itself.

Instead, the far-right chief promoted the opioid hydroxychloroquine as a response to the health problem, amid reports finding that it is ineffective against Covid-19.

He again claimed Saturday that the infamous drug had "saved the lives of thousands of people" in Brazil. Bolsonaro also took what he considered the "right-wing" medication when he was hospitalized with the infection in July.

Experts widely agree the lack of a cohesive message from Brazil’s leaders is responsible for the country’s failure to “flatten the curve.”

“It’s terrible. There’s been a total lack of coordination by the federal government, which unfortunately is another characteristic of the pandemic in Brazil,” said Barcellos.

In the meantime, the epidemic has spread from its first population infection — rich travelers returning from abroad — to more marginalized communities and to the interior of the world.

Impoverished inhabitants in overcrowded favelas or slums in cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have become extremely hard hit.

So have indigenous groups in the Amazon rainforest, who have a history of vulnerability to outside diseases.

– Bolsonaro popular as ever –

Meanwhile, Brazil's economy, the highest in Latin America, is headed towards a historic contraction this year due to the repercussions.

The Ministry of Economy forecasts that GDP contracted by 8 to 10% in the second quarter of 2020 and analysts expect a contraction of more than 5% in the year.

But Bolsonaro, paradoxically, is as popular as ever. The president, who took office in January 2019, received the best approval rating of his term earlier this month, 37 percent, up five points from June, according to leading polling firm Datafolha.

It was found to have been especially effective among poor Brazilians who earned monthly support payments of 600 reals (about $110) to compensate for the economic hardship of the pandemic.

The former leader of the army had an acceptance rate of 42% among the beneficiaries of conditional stimulus payments.

The poll also showed that 47 per cent of the Brazilians did not blame Bolsonaro for the Covid 19 death toll in the region, while just 11 per cent saw him as the "chief suspect."

Such new polling have showed that the guy nicknamed the "Tropical Trump" had a rebounding reputation and a good probability of re-election in 2022.

“Bolsonaro is a phenomenon. He’s a political force to be reckoned with,” said political analyst Michael Mohallem of the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Still, he added, “it’s shocking the way he has handled this. It’s not just his denialism…. He has often crossed the line of disrespecting victims.”

Meanwhile, “the number of deaths is scandalously high,” he said. “And I think someday he’ll have to pay the price.”