Coronavirus

On lockdown, Pará state tops isolation ranking

lockdown pará covid-19
Photo: Marcelo Seabra/Ag.Pará

The population of the northern Brazilian state of Pará is reportedly responding diligently to the newly imposed lockdown rules, recording the highest level of isolation on Sunday out of all 27 Brazilian states. Full lockdown measures were rolled out in ten Pará cities on Wednesday, in a bid to control what Governor Helder Barbalho called “uncontrollable advance” of Covid-19 in the state.

While the initial days of lockdown still saw a considerable number of people on the streets in the state capital of Belém — with the city’s famous Ver-o-peso street market packed with customers — the rate of isolation increased to 54.95 percent statewide on Sunday. In Belém, that percentage rose to 60 percent.

However, these figures are still far below the optimal level of 70 percent.

The neighboring state of Maranhão has also imposed lockdown controls, but its isolation levels stood at 49.76 percent on Sunday.