Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro sparked an outcry after asking residents on Thursday evening to film hospitals to verify their occupation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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" It would be good if you went to a hospital near you (...) and found a way to enter to film, " said the head of state during his weekly live broadcast on Facebook. " Many people are already doing it, but it would take more to show whether the beds are occupied or not, " he continued, before explaining that the videos posted on social networks would be " filtered " and then analyzed by the police or intelligence services. " According to my information, I may be wrong, but practically no one has lost their life for lack of a ventilator or a bed in intensive care ," said the far-right president.
Over 95% of intensive care beds are occupied
Since the start of the pandemic, official figures have at times shown that more than 95% of intensive care beds are occupied in many states, although the rate has dropped in recent days in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo , where a gradual reopening of shops has started.
“ If Bolsonaro lived up to his job, if he was not as desperate, he would know that he does not need to send people to invade hospitals. (...) If he wants to visit our hospitals, I show him myself ”, reacted on Twitter Flavio Dino, governor of Maranhao (northeast). The president has never visited patients or caregivers in hospitals since the crisis began in late February.
" When Jair Bolsonaro asks supporters to invade hospitals, under the pretext of filming the beds, he is putting lives at risk with impunity, " added left MP Paulo Fernando dos Santos.
The pandemic curves are in full rise in Brazil, which has crossed the threshold of 40,000 dead and 800,000 contaminations. Jair Bolsonaro is engaged in a standoff with the governors of the states that have taken restrictive measures, advocating the resumption of economic activities in the name of job preservation. Last week, the government was widely criticized for releasing truncated official reports of deaths and cases of contamination.
The health ministry ended up going back on Tuesday, a judge of the Supreme Court ordered the publication of the statistics of the pandemic in their entirety.
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