Coronavirus

During tighter restriction measures, São Paulo has 26 percent fewer ICU patients

são paulo quarantine
Quarantines lowered hospitalizations in São Paulo. Photo: Felipecbit/Shutterstock

After enacting its tightest coronavirus restrictions to date, São Paulo state — Brazil’s wealthiest and most populous — recorded a drop of 26 percent in intensive care patients between March 25 and April 25.

The state currently has 10,556 patients in ICUs, representing an overall occupancy rate of 80.7 percent.

São Paulo was under the so-called “emergency phase” of its coronavirus reopening plan between March 19 and April 18, amid an eye-watering spike of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

Experts fear that despite this momentary improvement, the state administration’s decision to relax restrictions once more may be premature. As of Saturday, shops, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, and other non-essential services have been allowed to reopen, albeit at limited capacity.