Covid cases rise in four Brazilian states

The number of new Covid cases rose in four Brazilian states in recent weeks, according to a report published on Thursday by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a federal biological institute.

Marcelo Gomes, a researcher at the institution, said that it is not yet possible to determine whether the increase in cases is associated with new Omicron sub-variants recently identified in Brazil.

Health officials in São Paulo state confirmed the first death caused by the BQ.1 subvariant earlier this week. The patient, a 72-year-old woman residing in the city of Diadema, in Greater São Paulo, had received the first but not the second booster jab.

In the state of Amazonas, however — where case numbers are also rising — only one case of BQ.1 has been reported so far. Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul are the other two states where case numbers rose last week.

Mr. Gomes understands that Covid is likely to acquire two yearly seasonal peaks, as opposed to influenza, which peaks once a year.

Nationally, the average number of cases and deaths has dropped in the last few days. On Wednesday, the seven-day rolling average of new daily deaths sat at 45, a 32-percent drop from the previous week before. The seven-day rolling average for new daily cases had also dropped, by 7 percent, to fewer than 5,200.

InfoTracker, an online panel run by two public universities from the state of São Paulo, projects that transmission rates will increase by November 15, Brazil’s Republic Day and a federal holiday.

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