Coronavirus: Minas and BH stand out positively in quarantine

The transmission of the new coronavirus (Sars-Cov-2) in Belo Horizonte and Minas Gerais occurred at an extremely slower rate than in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and its capitals during the quarantine period (40 days of preventive social leave). Compiling data from the Health Departments and the Ministry of Health, the report by the State of Minas Gerais compared the evolution of new cases exclusively acquired within the distance period, which shows that in BH, for example, transmission in this period, although increasing, was 10 times slower than in the state capital. In Minas Gerais, the data show, in the same period, a volume of infection of one third of that observed in Brazil. To produce this comparison, the report used a methodology guided by the Minas Gerais Society of Infectious Diseases, which takes into account 40 calendar days of isolation, from the five days of the beginning of the transmission of COVID-19 and the 72 hours necessary for the diagnosis of new cases to be disclosed by laboratories such as the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and the Ezequiel Dias Foundation. In Minas Gerais, the 40 days of isolation produced a daily average of 64 new diagnoses, against 16 records per day in the period prior to social recollection, when the virus was still circulating much less. In the state capital, the average went from 10 cases before the distance to 19. However, when comparing this rhythm with that of São Paulo, which of 104 new cases increased to 963, or rio de Janeiro, which was 43 to 327, an exponential jump is perceived in neighboring states. For the president of the Minas Gerais Society of Infectious Diseases, Estevão Urbano Silva, one of the main reasons for the virus circulating less in BH and Minas Gerais than in other states and capitals is due to social isolation, which was practiced in advance and followed with more discipline. "I can only guarantee that the cities that have performed better so far have been the ones that practiced social distancing first and where the population's adherence was greater." The numbers show a little bit of quarantine in the alterosas. The second week of social leave in Minas Gerais was the one with the highest growth, of 42.2% over the first. Subsequently, growth is shy, of 2.1%, indicating a stability of patient diagnoses. From the third week to the fourth and the fourth to the fifth, more growth sequences are computed, of 23.5% and 34.1%, respectively. In BH, the movement was different. The number of cases fell 12.5% in the second week over the first, dropped another 16.3% from the third to the second week, increased by 31.7%, which practically brought the pace of new cases to the level of the first week, registering a further drop from the fourth to the fifth, of the order of 9.2%. The states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro presented the last quarantine weeks with the strongest growth of cases, reaching highs of 82.8% and 106.6%, respectively. In the state capital, this last period increased by 74.2% and in the state capital, 38.3%. The municipal undersecretary of Health Promotion and Surveillance of BH, Fabiano Pimenta, evaluates that a set of actions allowed the capital of Minas Gerais to stand out, from the spraying of vaccination sites against influenza, saving the elderly from a great exposure, to isolation. "It is also good to highlight something very important that was and has to be very stressed that is the etiquette of coughing, sneezing, hand washing constantly, abstaining from handshake, hugs and kisses", he points out. "Without a doubt, an important decision was the stimulus to the non-crowding of people, followed by decrees that suspended non-essential business permits. The SUS in BH is consolidated, has 152 health units with coverage of more than 80% of the family health program. We made an extension of the service hours of these units. We call attention to people with more severe symptoms to look for health units and there was an important response", says Pimenta.