Wuhan's coronavirus has arrived in Latin America in Brazil one month after the first cases detected in China and when it spreads in some countries in Europe and Asia. The Brazilian Health Minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday the contagion of a 61-year-old patient admitted to São Paulo. The affected is a Brazilian who was in Lombardy (the region where the first cases of Italy were detected) between February 9 and 21, according to the minister. The patient is isolated at home. "It's okay, in isolation in your own home, with your family," explained the Secretary of Health of São Paulo, Henrique Ferreira. The minister explained that it is the second case in the southern hemisphere after a first case diagnosed in Algeria.
The various suspected cases of Covid-19 detected in Latin America since the beginning of the outbreak had been ruled out so far. The confirmation comes just on Ash Wednesday, at the close of a Carnival that in Brazil concentrates huge crowds like the one that gathered a million people in the streets of Rio de Janeiro this Sunday to listen to a funk singer. The Carnival of Venice was days before suspended before the virulence of the outbreak in Italy.
The Brazilians evacuated from Wuhan returned to their homes this Sunday after a quarantine. Authorities put an end to four days earlier than planned to isolate 58 Brazilians picked up in Wuhan at the end of February by an Air Force plane. The decision to let them out of the air force hotel in Anapolis where they have been isolated was advanced in view of the analysis showing that none of them had been infected.
So far 14 cases have been detected in the territory of the United States, the most populous country in America, and the Administration has urged to avoid travel and large public meetings. Until now, the impact in Latin America of the Wuhan epidemic had been economic, especially in Chile and Peru. Analysts estimate that the damages that the Chinese economy is already suffering from the quarantines of millions of workers will affect these two Latin American countries that concentrate 40% of the world's copper production. Brazil also fears the effect of the health crisis suffered by China, its first trading partner. The impact can be especially serious for sales to China of iron ore, basic in construction. The Asian giant is also the first buyer of Brazilian soybeans.