Brazil's Actions and Reactions in the Fight Against COVID-19 from January to March 2020

Abstract

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19, which emerged in 2019, was identified by the World Health Organization as a public health emergency of international concern. Brazil actively responded to contain the virus. This case study aims to examine Brazil's response to COVID-19 by investigating the country's actions and reflecting upon the outcomes throughout January and March 2020. The data collection strategy included gathering data from the country's intergovernmental organization's official website, epidemiological bulletins, and news reports, guided by intersectoral and interdisciplinary themes. Although the highest incidence rates were in the most rich and populated region in Brazil, it was the poorest region that had the highest case fatality rate. Nevertheless, Brazil took several non-pharmaceutical measures to control and mitigate the spread of the virus. However, the strategy seems to have failed to consider regional and social inequalities. The actions of the health minister were undermined by a conflicting discourse between the minister and the president. The outbreak of COVID-19 added an extra burden on the country's healthcare system and the existing economic crises; exacerbated the inherent social, political, and economic challenges; and exposed the country's contradictions.

Keywords: Brazil; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; global health; health policy; public health.

Figure 1

Map of Brazil, elaborated by the authors, with the distribution of healthcare resources by state: (a) Hospital Beds per 100,000 people ranging from 1.56 (light blue) to 2.85 (dark blue) (b) Healthcare Professionals (doctors and nurse) per 100,000 people ranging from 1.4 (light blue) to 5.69 (dark blue). Brazilian states acronym are: Acre (AC), Alagoas (AL), Amapá (AM), Amazonas (AP), Bahia (BA), Ceará (CE), DistritoFederal (DF), EspíritoSanto (ES), Goiás (GO), Maranhão (MA), MatoGrosso (MT), MatoGrossodoSul (MS), MinasGerais (MG), Pará (PA), Paraíba (PB), Paraná (PR), Pernambuco (PE), Piauí (PI), RiodeJaneiro (RJ), RioGrandedoNorte (RN), RioGrandedoSul (RS), Rondônia (RO), Roraima (RR), SantaCatarina (SC), SãoPaulo (SP), Sergipe (SE) and Tocantins (TO).

Figure 2

Map of Brazil with the distribution of COVID-19 cases and fatalities by state, elaborated by the authors: (a) Incidence of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people ranging from 0.37 (light green) to 11.01 (dark green); (b) Case fatality (%) ranging from 0.00% (light green) to 22.22% (dark green). Brazilian states acronym are: Acre (AC), Alagoas (AL), Amapá (AM), Amazonas (AP), Bahia (BA), Ceará (CE), DistritoFederal (DF), EspíritoSanto (ES), Goiás (GO), Maranhão (MA), MatoGrosso (MT), MatoGrossodoSul (MS), MinasGerais (MG), Pará (PA), Paraíba (PB), Paraná (PR), Pernambuco (PE), Piauí (PI), RiodeJaneiro (RJ), RioGrandedoNorte (RN), RioGrandedoSul (RS), Rondônia (RO), Roraima (RR), SantaCatarina (SC), SãoPaulo (SP), Sergipe (SE) and Tocantins (TO).

Figure 3

Timeline with measures taken by the Ministry of Health (grey) and the WHO (red) on the left with the evolution of accumulate cases of COVID-19 on the right.