The strategy that led SC to be a leader in the ranking of combat covid-19

Santa Catarina authorized on Monday, 8, the return of public transport in the cities of the state, whose rules of implementation are at the discretion of municipalities. In the plan to resume the economy in the coronavirus pandemic, almost all activities are released —except classes, with schools returning to work on August 3, and cultural and sporting events, which are still suspended. One of the first states to close its economy in the pandemic, Santa Catarina rehearses to return to normality. With 11,742 confirmed cases and 177 deaths from coronavirus, according to the Department of Health, in the latest bulletin released on Monday, 8, the state has been considered an example in the conduct of the health crisis. Santa Catarina appears in first place in a ranking that evaluates the actions of states in the fight against covid-19. The study is published every seven days by the Center for Public Leadership (CLP) and takes into account nine indicators. It is the second consecutive survey that the state appears in the first place. The mortality rate is 2.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the lowest in the country. The capital, Florianópolis, went 30 days without registering any deaths caused by covid-19, until the last weekend when it included another victim in the balance of the pandemic. For the Secretary of Finance of Santa Catarina, Paulo Eli, the main strategy adopted by the state - and that made the difference to record these numbers - was to decree the quarantine early in the pandemic, on March 17, two days after registering the first case. "Our first study predicted closure from the first case of community transmission. For 15 days we shut everything down, even the bank. The president of the Central Bank even called the governor [Carlos Moisés, psl] to know why the banks were closed in the state", said the secretary in an interview with EXAME. Another fundamental point, in Eli's assessment, was the shutdown of the public transportation system. All municipal, intercity and interstate trips were suspended. Yesterday, the state government authorized the return of the municipal fleet, under regulations of the prefectures. In addition, it has adopted a policy of reducing the number of deaths. To this, it created 500 ICU beds to exclusively treat the most severe cases in covid-19. Currently, the occupancy rate is at 20%, with an idleness of 400 beds. And the goal is to create an additional 500 vacancies dedicated to the care of patients in the pandemic. In the ranking elaborated by the PLC, the lower the number, the better the evaluation. And each of the nine criteria has a weight, being the highest in the proportion of cases in relation to the population. Indicators for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SRAG) are also evaluated, provided by Fiocruz, Covid-19's Transparency Index, Open Knowledge Brazil, and google's social isolation data, as José Nascimento, head of competitiveness of the entity, explains. "Of all the measures adopted, what draws our attention in Santa Catarina is the suspension of public transport. The capacity of public health care also has a better situation", says Nascimento. Two weeks after declaring the closure of the state, still in April, the state government began a gradual recovery of the economy, with a format that Secretary Paulo Eli calls "U", and that the worst moment, according to him, was in May. "We open lottery, bank branches, construction. We opened one activity at a time. Then the self-employed, street commerce, shopping malls and public transportation", said the secretary. The last activities that will open are those related to culture, events, sports activities and schools. Classes are expected to return on August 3rd. With all this crisis, the secretary projects that the recession in the state is 12%. For him, the estimates that speak of a 6% drop in the Brazilian economy are being optimistic. Regarding the state accounts, he says there is a risk of non-payment of the civil service. "Between April and June we paid with the reservations we had. The money we will receive from the Union will help us pay the payroll by August," he says. The state was one of the first to freeze the increase in public service so as not to increase spending during the pandemic. The measure is also one of the federal government's counterparts to assist the states. Santa Catarina will receive an aid of 1.2 billion reais in four installments of the federal government. In the plans of the Department of Finance of Santa Catarina, 2020 would be the year to zero all the debts of the state and have room for more investments. Now Paulo Eli estimates this to happen in 2021. "Even with the coronavirus crisis, we don't stop the projects. We have 600 million reais in works that have not been stopped. We have to invest in infrastructure to generate jobs," he said. The unemployment rate in the state today is 5.5%. In 2019, 100,000 jobs were created and since the pandemic began, 70,000 have been closed. Although the state has figures showing greater control of the pandemic, the resumption of the economy has caused an increase in cases in some regions. In Blumenau, in the Itajaí Valley, the number of infected doubled two weeks after the reopening of shopping malls, churches and academies. The reopening of the Neumarkt mall at the end of April caused agglomeration of people, mostly elderly. The episode, released on video on social networks, led the Court to notify the establishment to meet the health requirements determined by the government, such as distancing 1.5 meters, limiting the number of people and prohibiting the presentation of shows of any kind. Blumenau counts 698 confirmed cases and four deaths. Chapecó, in western Santa Catarina, has the largest number of people with covid-19, with 1,025 infected.