We’re covering how half-hearted social isolation could lead Brazil to a full-scale lockdown. The president storming the Supreme Court. And far-right groups with paramilitary discourse make a call to arms.
Postponing full-scale lockdown is a risk for Brazil
Brazil seems to be fulfilling the prediction that it would quickly become the world’s new Covid-19 epicenter. According to official Health Ministry data, the total number of cases sits above 135,000, with deaths approaching 10,000. However, it has become a scientific consensus that figures are grossly under-reported, with some estimates putting the actual number of infections between 1.6 and 2 million.
- Brazil lacks political coordination to implement the only known medicine against the coronavirus: social distancing. That is the result of constant struggles between a president who denies the virus’ severity, state governors who — for the most part — support quarantines, and mayors who are under direct pressure from productive sectors and lean towards more liberal rules.
- After a promising start in March, popular support for stay-home guidelines has waned and isolation rates dropped from 62 to 42 percent between March 22 and May 5.
VIDEO: Bolsonaro's response to #Covid19 as deaths pile up