Rio de Janeiro overtakes São Paulo in Covid-19 deaths

Rio de Janeiro is now the Brazilian city with the highest number of Covid-19 deaths, surpassing São Paulo this week. On February 4, the so-called “Wonderful City” reached a total of 17,535 deaths caused by the virus, against the 17,523 reported by São Paulo health authorities on the same day. The largest city in South America, São Paulo’s population of 12.3 million is almost double that of Rio de Janeiro. 

The figures also put Rio’s Covid-19 mortality rate at 9.1 percent, almost three times São Paulo’s level of 3.7 percent. 

In January, the surrounding state of Rio de Janeiro had 82 percent fewer intensive care beds available when compared to the beginning of the pandemic. In the state capital, ICU occupancy sits at 87 percent.

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