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Numbers of the week: Aug. 22, 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: mortality of respiratory distress patients, a macabre death in a supermarket, a clash over abortion rights, Operation Car Wash continues, more vaccine tests, Brazil’s economic downturn.

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113,358 Covid-19 deaths and 3,532,330 cases

Despite coronavirus numbers continuing to grow in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro said he hasn’t seen “anywhere else in the world give a better response to the pandemic.” However, only the U.S. has recorded more cases and deaths than Brazil. But despite the utter mismanagement of the health crisis, the president feels emboldened by rising popularity levels — and the fact that 15 of Brazil’s 27 states are showing a downward trend in new daily deaths.


35 percent of ARDS patients die

According to data from the Health Ministry, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, over 35 percent of the patients admitted to hospital in Brazil with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have died. Until August 16, 295,950 people have been taken to hospital with ARDS symptoms, and 104,065 died....

Lucas Berti

Lucas Berti covers international affairs — specialized in Latin American politics and markets. He has been published by Opera Mundi, Revista VIP, and The Intercept Brasil, among others.

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