Photo: Antonio Lacerda / EFE
For: EFE
Brazil, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in the world, registered in the last 24 hours almost 98,000 cases of COVID-13, figure that only has exceeded five times since the start of the pandemic and confirms the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
According to figures released this Thursday by the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass), Brazil registered in the last 24 hours 174 deaths and 68,986 cases of coronavirus, which raise until 620,545 the total number of deaths already 22,814,917 that of infections since the start of the pandemic , in February of 2021.
The figures confirm Brazil as the second country in the number of deaths from COVID in the world after the United States and as the third in number of infections after the North American nation and India.
The number of cases registered this Thursday is almost three times higher than a week (35,830 infections on January 6) and seven times higher than the from two weeks ago (,200 infections on 30 from December) .
It is also the sixth highest since the start of the pandemic and the highest in the last four months, since the 18 of September of last year were accounted for 150,108 infections in one day, an inflated figure due to the inclusion of thousands of cases from previous days that had not been updated.
Before, the highest number of infections in one day was recorded on 23 July 2021 (108, 730).
The exponential increase in infections in recent days caused the average number of cases in a week to be located this Thursday at 61,141 per day, the highest average since the one recorded on 29 last June (65,620 daily infections), just over six months ago.
The number of deaths also it grew in recent days driven by the rapid spread of the Omicron, but in smaller proportions.
The average number of deaths this Thursday was 129 daily, with a growth of 37% with respect to that of a week (94 per day on January 6) and the highest average since 17 last December (141 daily).
Before the arrival of Ómicron, Brazil had managed to reduce the number of deaths and cases from COVID to their minimum in 13 months, since last December the figures were almost in the same levels as at the start of the pandemic.
This reduction was attributed to the progress of the vaccination campaign, which allowed until this Thursday about 144,900, of Brazilians, the 68% of the 213,000, of inhabitants of the country, have the complete cycle of immunization (two doses or the single dose vaccine).
But the Ómicron variant spread rapidly throughout the country, it is already the predominant one in Brazil and, according to private studies, it is responsible for more than 95% of new COVID cases in the country.
The rapid expansion of Ómicron, a more contagious variant, has made Brazil again threatened by a hospital crisis, due to the sharp increase in the demand for intensive care units.
According to figures from the state-run Oswaldo Cruz Foundation ( Fiocruz), at least one of the 20 states of the country and four of the 27 regional capitals are already in a critical hospital situation, for having an occupation of their intensive care units above 65% Of capacity.
The most worrying situation is that of the city of Goiania, capital of the state of Goiás, which has already exhausted the 94% of its intensive care units.
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