Public and private networks clash on hospital bed use

Only a few weeks before the Covid-19 curve reaches the predicted peak, Brazil struggles with the allocation of hospital beds. The situation of intensive care units is especially worrisome — Brazil currently has 32,000 intensive care units, divided nearly evenly between the public health system and private companies. However, the public and private systems have not reached an agreement to expand their services during the crisis.

A study by the Federal University of Minas Gerais showed that if 0.1 percent of the population contracts the novel virus by late April, the country will run out of hospital beds. If this number rises to 1 percent, over half of the Brazilian municipalities’ healthcare systems could collapse.

Health Minister Luis Henrique Mandetta had previously said that in case the public system runs out of hospital beds, the government might authorize the usage of private units.

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