Amid investigations into the possible omission of the Ministry of Health to adopt measures to avoid running out of oxygen in Manaus, the minister's special adviser, Ridauto Fernandes, said on Thursday (28) that the alert made by the company White Martins about the lack of oxygen in the city was "relatively mild" and did not indicate the critical nature of the crisis. Fernandes made the statement at a meeting with state and municipal health secretaries.
"Do you think we are standing still? We have been busting our behinds for days. We have been working hard since January 8, when the ministry became aware of the situation," he said.
Then, he said that the alert made by the company - which was sent to the health department to warn the ministry - occurred in a "relatively soft" way.
"Whoever takes the notice that came to us and reads it will have the same impression. Whoever is watching people dying up and down will say: it doesn't even seem like they are talking about something that is missing with the gravity that is missing," he said.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon