How São Paulo can avoid a Covid-19 collapse

Social isolation measures in the state of São Paulo are scheduled to be relaxed as of May 11. However, with more and more people flouting confinement rules and Covid-19 cases increasing at a faster pace, São Paulo Governor João Doria has hinted that Monday’s deadline could see the state’s anti-Covid-19 rules made even tougher, with full-scale lockdowns not out of the question for some municipalities. 

However, while São Paulo is Brazil’s Covid-19 epicenter — home to 30 percent of cases and 35 percent of deaths — the state’s healthcare network has so far avoided collapse. The state capital of São Paulo is home to a vast private health system, including arguably Brazil’s two most renowned hospitals: Albert Einstein and Sírio-Libanês. But to keep São Paulo safe from the chaos Covid-19 has caused in Manaus, São Luís, or Recife, the city’s private sector will now have to step up to the plate.

According to a recent study by researchers at think tank Fundação Getulio Vargas, the São Paulo Cancer Institute, the Federal University of Paraíba, and the University of São Paulo, unifying the private and public networks is the key to keep intensive care units from overflowing. These findings are in line with an April...