Numbers of the week: Feb. 1, 2020

This is Brazil by the Numbers, a weekly digest of the most interesting figures tucked inside the latest news about Brazil. A selection of numbers that help explain what is going on in Brazil. This week: Suspected coronavirus infections; Brazilian fiscal deficit shrinks; the most expensive transfer in the history of Brazilian soccer; Brazil’s efforts to ban foot-and-mouth disease; São Paulo’s homeless population growing; and stronger signs of recovery in unemployment levels. 

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13 suspected coronavirus cases

The Health Ministry is monitoring 13 potential coronavirus infections in six Brazilian states. So far, none have been confirmed. As Dr. Rosana Richtmann, an infectious diseases specialist at the Emilio Ribas Institute, told our Explaining Brazil podcast, it is only a matter of time until a coronavirus case is confirmed, but the risks of an epidemic for Brazil remain slim. Her justification for this view is that the country’s high summer temperatures do not favor the transmission of respiratory diseases. However, the global fears of a coronavirus pandemic have rattled markets. Exporting companies, such as mining giant Vale, have been feeling the blow, as investors are alarmed by the impacts of the outbreak to the Chinese economy, Brazil’s top trading partner.

Meanwhile, the Bolsonaro administration said it will only repatriate Brazilian nationals from regions affected by the coronavirus if quarantine conditions are set up in Brazil.

11.9 percent

This is the rate of Brazilians who were out of work at the end of last year, corresponding to over 12.6 million people. Though unemployment rates remain high, they are smaller than a year ago (12.3 percent), which is a positive sign...