Senate leaders sign pro-isolation manifesto

After a meeting today, senior senators have signed a joint manifesto in favor of confinement measures to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. This declaration from the Senate leadership goes directly against what President Jair Bolsonaro has preached — the head of state wants Brazilians to “go back to work.”

At the time of publishing, 13 senators — including the government’s whip in Congress, Eduardo Gomes, and Senate, Fernando Bezerra — had signed the document, entitled “For Social Isolation.”

Senators say that in the absence of a vaccine or a proven treatment against the disease, other countries’ experiences shows that the best way to minimize the effects of the pandemic is social isolation.

São Paulo counter the government

The city of São Paulo, in partnership with the São Paulo state administration, will launch a series of ads asking people to stay home and avoid public gatherings. Authorities say that the recent containment measures in the country’s most populous state — where one-fifth of Brazilians live — have already been effective. A study by the Butantan Institute says that, without the quarantine, the city of São Paulo alone would need 20,000 extra intensive-care beds to meet the demand.

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