The State of Sao Paulo announced Friday the closure of bars and restaurants from 8 p.m. on weekdays, and all weekend, in order to curb the coronavirus pandemic which kills one person every six minutes.
These measures will come into force next Monday until February 7 in the megalopolis of Sao Paulo and the majority of the municipalities of the richest and most populous state of Brazil declared
"in the red phase".
Read also: The very heavy toll of the Covid crisis in Brazil
"A second wave of coronavirus is affecting the world and its effects are also being felt in Brazil and in the state of Sao Paulo,"
said state governor Joao Doria.
"The increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths is extremely worrying."
In the state of Sao Paulo,
"there is one death every six minutes"
due to Covid-19, added the coordinator of the cell against the new coronavirus, Joao Gabbardo.
“The scenario for the next few days is not reassuring.
On the contrary, it is dark.
There is a risk that if Sao Paulo does not take action in a short period of time, intensive care beds will run out, ”
he warned.
Joao Doria explained that he would not back down, despite pressure from economic circles and from President Jair Bolsonaro, who is opposed to any form of containment or slowing down of economic activity.
"Sao Paulo does not have a populist government (...) which abandons its citizens"
, he added, in a transparent allusion to the president, against whom he could compete in the presidential election of 2022. Brazil has launched this week, with delay, a national vaccination campaign of its 212 million inhabitants which will quickly run up against the glaring insufficiency of doses, according to experts.
The country has recorded nearly 215,000 deaths, including 51,000 in the state of Sao Paulo alone, and deplores more than 1,000 deaths per day currently.
