Welcome to “Number of the Week,” where we choose a single figure that helps us understand what is going on in Brazil. This week, we go through the numbers suggesting that hosting Copa America was a mistake.
- 82
- coronavirus infections
When the Jair Bolsonaro administration decided to bring the 2021 Copa America to Brazil, most — if not all — high-profile epidemiologists in the country said this would be a serious error. Bringing around 1,200 foreigners (consisting of members of the press, organizers, and the teams themselves) into a country currently suffering around 2,000 new coronavirus deaths a day would be ludicrous.
Authorities claimed that risks would be minimized by the creation of bubble-like environments that would...