Brasília reaches Covid-19 collapse as government imposes curfew

At Brazil’s worst point of the Covid-19 pandemic so far, capital city Brasília is under curfew. Until March 22, between 10 pm and 5 am, people must remain inside unless they are travelling to hospital for emergency care, or purchasing drugs from a pharmacy. Brasília began tightening up its restrictions one week before, closing all non-essential stores and businesses.  

The health system in the 3-million-people city is completely overwhelmed. Last weekend, all of Brasília’s 440 Covid-19 intensive care beds were occupied by critical patients. That rate fell to 83.86 percent after a week of restrictions and curfews.

The coronavirus reproduction number in Brazil’s capital hit 1.32, meaning that every 100 contaminated individuals would be expected to pass the virus on to another 132, who would then spread it to 174 others.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brasília has recorded 312,956 confirmed cases and 5,048 deaths. On Thursday alone, 21 new deaths and 2,288 cases were added to the overall tally. Vaccine rollout is slow, with only 5 percent of the city’s...