The collapse in health networks in the interior of São Paulo due to Covid-19 means that every day more cities are enacting lockdowns, closing pharmacies and supermarkets and prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
In the regions of Ribeirão Preto and Franca, it has become a common scene for people to die in beds of emergency rooms or UPA (Emergency Care Unit) while waiting for the opening of a place in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).
With hospitals full and unable to transfer patients to neighboring municipalities, also with 100% occupancy in ICUs, 23 cities in both regions have in the past few days enacted very restrictive measures, 11 of them with lockdowns and 5 with severe restrictions. And mayors report despair over the situation.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon