The number of hospitalized patients with severe respiratory failure increased again in states that had been registering a consistent fall, according to data from Fiocruz.
They show that Amapá, Maranhão, Ceará, and Rio de Janeiro give signs of what may be the beginning of the so-called second wave of Covid-19 in their territory.
Amapá recorded the peak of hospitalizations between May 3 and 9 - there were 65 cases that week. There was a 46% decrease and reached 35 cases. Now it has gone up again, to 59.
Maranhão recorded 378 cases in the peak week, dropping to 150. And now it has gone up again, to 167 hospitalizations. Ceará went from 2,048 cases to 813 - and registered 871 last week. Rio reached 2,844 hospitalizations in its worst week, down 60%, to 1,154 - and returned to 1,367 between July 12 and 18.
"The states were declining, but still had high levels of cases. And now they are back up", said researcher Marcelo Gomes, from Fiocruz, who coordinates the Infogripe. "It is necessary to assess whether there is a leap because of the economic recovery, or whether cases have spread to the interior or if the two are combined."
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon