Two and a half months after Brazil declared a state of public calamity, the Brazilian government passed its first direct measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in favelas today. The Health Ministry has created and will fund community centers to implement “actions of early identification of flu syndrome cases, the follow-up of suspected and confirmed cases, as well as the referral of severe cases to hospitals.” In these cramped urban neighborhoods, infrastructure is often precarious and social distancing near impossible due to population density.
Municipalities that implement these centers will receive aid from the federal government — to a combined amount of BRL 301 million until September. Centers in favelas with up to 20,000 inhabitants will get BRL 60,000. The aid goes up to BRL 80,000 for areas with over 20,000 residents.
Reporter André Cabette Fábio wrote that millions of Brazilians have no access to healthcare. Some, due to geographic challenges. Others, due to social barriers.
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