Covid-19 transmission in Brazil is not decreasing, WHO warns

The director of emergencies of the World Health Organization (WHO), Michael Ryan, warned on Monday (10) that Brazil still has high levels of transmission of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2).
"Brazil is sustaining a very high level of epidemic. The [transmission] curve has flattened a bit, but it's not slowing down," Ryan warned.
Ryan recalled that although the number of cases in Brazil grows about 10% per week, the number of cases in the country is very high. In addition, the number of positive cases among people who are tested is around 20% – which, he said, is "very high".
"Many of the indicators for Brazil are really pointing to continuous community transmission, continuous pressure on the health system," said the director of emergencies.
On Saturday (8), Brazil exceeded the mark of 100,000 killed by Covid-19. It is the second largest number in the world, behind only the United States. Over the weekend, the country also passed the 3 million cases.
According to the WHO director of emergencies, the rate of transmission of the disease – the so-called R0 – in the country ranges from 1.1 to 1.5. This means that one infected person contaminates, on average, more than one another. For the spread of the disease to be under control, R0 must be below 1 (i.e., one infected person must not be able to contaminate any other).
Ryan pointed out, once again, the difficulty of maintaining the control measures of the virus, such as the use of masks and social isolation, particularly among the poorest people, because of the lack of resources.
"It is very difficult, however, for many, many people in Brazil – many live in overcrowded and poor places, where sustaining this type of activity is difficult. The government should be supporting these communities – it's very difficult to act as a community if you don't have support," he said.
"You need to empower people with acts, resources, knowledge. Communities can't act with their hands tied. They need to receive the means, the resources, the knowledge," he said.