Coronavirus

Brazil’s Amapá state faces Omicron health collapse

Amapá Omicron health collapse
Photo: GovAP

Intensive care units in the Amazonian state of Amapá are operating at 100-percent capacity this week, and authorities are scrambling to increase the availability of beds for Covid patients. The state is facing its most dramatic health situation since its health network collapsed under the weight of coronavirus cases in March 2021.

The state has one of the worst rates of fully immunized citizens, with less than 39 percent fully vaccinated. Earlier this month, state authorities reported that 80 percent of hospitalized Covid patients in Amapá were unvaccinated.

Macapá, the state capital, is the only city in the 751,000-people state to have ICU beds.