Brazil records Covid spike, and coronavirus still kills plenty

Covid curves have Brazilian health officials worried, as reported levels of the coronavirus in the country are the highest in months. Experts at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a federal biological institute, have warned of a spike in cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome in several states. 

“It’s a scenario that is causing a lot of concern nationwide,” said Marcelo Gomes, the coordinator of InfoGripe — the institute’s task force for monitoring respiratory disease trends. “Virtually all of the Center-South regions are experiencing a Covid spike. In some, this increase has been associated with a simultaneous surge of hospitalizations due to influenza infections.”

The three-week rolling average of new Covid cases has more than doubled since the beginning of 2024, according to data from the Health Ministry. 

Despite the drumbeat of warnings, hospitalizations and deaths have remained far lower than in previous years. In early 2021, during the Omicron wave, Brazil recorded thousands of deaths per day. At one point, Brazil’s main cemeteries had to suspend funerals and burials, running out of space to dig more graves as the coronavirus crisis worsened.

The country has so far tallied more than 709,000 deaths — second only to the U.S. In recent years, however, experts have suggested that official figures...