Cemetery in Manaus, capital city of Amazonas. Photo: Fernando Crispim/Amazônia Real
The current situation in the Brazilian state of Amazonas is one of unbridled chaos. Covid-19 horror stories in the state capital of Manaus made the front pages of international newspapers, and there are reports that coronavirus infection rates are booming in the west of Amazonas, where populations are vulnerable and healthcare infrastructure is extremely precarious.
Amid the catastrophe, Governor Wilson Lima launched a plan to gradually reopen commerce in the state, based on a disastrous study led by a famous TV and radio finance pundit. Slated to begin on Thursday, the plan was heavily criticized and eventually nixed. Meanwhile, Governor Lima is facing requests for his impeachment.
At the end of April — the month that saw deaths in Amazonas rise 179.5 percent and bodies buried in mass graves known as “trenches” — Governor Wilson Lima announced that the state would begin reopening businesses, quoting a study commissioned by the administration that reckoned the contagion rate in Manaus had already peaked, and the Covid-19 curve would flatten by May 11.
The study in question was coordinated by Samy Dana, an economist...
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