Health professionals left abandoned on the Covid-19 frontline

Estimates from the World Health Organization show that between 8 and 10 percent of health professionals worldwide will be infected during the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. As of April 20, almost 2.5 million cases had been confirmed across 210 countries.

There are as of yet no official surveys on the infection rates of healthcare workers in Brazil, but weekly TV magazine show “Fantástico“ broadcasted a segment last week reporting 18 deaths of doctors and nurses who had contracted the virus. The report stated that 1,400 health professionals had been infected and another 7,000 were on leave from work due to suspected Covid-19 infections. In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the states most affected by the pandemic so far, surveys by health professionals’ unions show that 600 workers have already been infected.

Besides working on the frontline with infected patients, the federal government has allowed health professionals to increase their working hours and reduce their minimum rest time from 36 hours to 12 hours. 

The...