Rui Costa (PT-BA), the governor of Bahia, predicts that the "health system will collapse and Brazil will plunge into chaos in two weeks."
He told the column this on Thursday (25) after announcing a suspension of all non-essential activities in the state over the weekend to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
"We are already seeing the problem worsen throughout the country. In Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia, Ceará, we have never seen a situation like this before," he said.
He says his state already had a thousand ICU beds exclusive to Covid-19. Ten days ago, it opened another 200.
"And they filled up overnight, overnight," he says. The situation is so dramatic that today 195 patients are waiting to get into the ICU.
Rui Costa says that the state expects to register on Thursday (25) a record of one hundred deaths within 24 hours.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon