Coronavirus

Hospital for senior citizens accused of hiding infections

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Health insurance provider Prevent Senior—focused on healthcare for senior citizens—is facing tremendous heat in São Paulo. The company owns its own hospital network—where five of Brazil’s six recorded Covid-19 deaths (as of March 19) occurred. The problem, however, could be much worse, as authorities suspect the company is not disclosing the real number of infections—which is required by law.

“We will open a strict investigation,” Municipal Health Secretary Edson Aparecido told newspaper Folha de S.Paulo

The total of Prevent Senior patients under Covid-19 protocols jumped from 55 to 123 between Wednesday and Thursday. According to the company, 12 patients who tested positive are in intensive care units, while 16 are at home. The rest are awaiting test results. On March 18, Prevent Senior informed that eight staff members had fallen ill with Covid-19, but there is no medical report on them. By the time of publishing, Prevent Senior had not yet replied to a comment request sent by The Brazilian Report.