Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, who rose to power in 2018, has been dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics.” Like his American counterpart, Bolsonaro campaigned as a political outsider, has attacked what he calls “fake news” and disparaged immigrants, for instance. Now that COVID-19 has overtaken the U.S. and Brazil alike, there are new parallels to draw: both Bolsonaro and U.S. President Donald Trump have encouraged the use of unproven drugs to treat the virus, and both have at times sowed confusion over the disease’s severity, writes TIME reporter Ciara Nugent.
But Brazil is not the U.S., nor is it like Italy or Spain, other global coronavirus hotspots. Brazil’s emerging economy, fractured health care system, weak social safety net, deepening political polarization and history of social unrest during economic crises set it up to be devastated by the outbreak. Add to that a looming recession caused by COVID-19, and “I don’t see a rosy future ahead of us,” says Brazilian political scientist Gustavo Ribeiro.
Nugent, who is based in London, partnered with reporters on the ground in Brazil to examine how the government has responded to COVID-19 so far. The country currently has the world’s third-highest case count, with 291,000, and is confirming roughly 14,500 new cases a day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. On May 19, 1,179 people died over a 24-hour span, the world’s second-highest single-day death count so far.
Here’s a look at Brazil’s daily case curve so far:
TIME’s examination found that many of Brazil’s failures come down to Bolsonaro himself. He fired the country’s health minister after the official opposed Bolsonaro’s lax stance on social distancing. The minister’s replacement, a doctor with no political experience, resigned on May 15 after Bolsonaro pushed him to reopen the economy and promote unproven drugs to treat the virus. During a May 9 jet skiing retreat, Bolsonaro joked about the “neurosis” of people worried about the virus, telling fellow vacationers that “there’s nothing to be done [about it]…It’s madness,” writes Nugent.
Bolsonaro’s efforts to minimize the virus’ threat has likely cost thousands of lives. But it remains uncertain if he’ll face political consequences. Though Bolsonaro’s popularity is dropping off and he faces a criminal investigation into alleged interference with federal police, Bolsonaro has enduring support from military leaders, including those in his cabinet.
Nearly 5 million people around the world had been sickened by COVID-19 as of 8 PM eastern time last night, and more than 328,000 people had died.
Here is every country with over 50,000 confirmed cases:
Natural disasters stand to be even more dangerous during the pandemic. At least 80 people are dead after Cyclone Amphan struck parts of India and Bangladesh yesterday, while thousands had to evacuate—a process made more difficult by the coronavirus. In an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, shelters in the region have cut down on their capacity, meaning many hundreds of people who were living in the cyclone’s path remain stranded, according to the Associated Press. The pandemic is also expected to slow relief efforts, the AP reports.
While Mexico recorded its highest one-day death toll yesterday, the mayor of Mexico City announced a gradual reopening beginning June 1. The overall death toll and case count in Mexico is expected to be much higher than what has been reported by officials, as the country ranks among the lowest in per-capita testing. Mexico is conducting 1.21 COVID-19 tests per every 1,000 people as of May 18, according to data collected by a team of researchers at Our World in Data.
Oxfam, a global organization that assists people in poverty, announced yesterday that it’s withdrawing from 18 countries and laying off about 1,400 people due to financial strain caused by COVID-19. “The coronavirus has made Oxfam’s work helping the world’s most vulnerable people more vital than ever while, at the same time, it is impacting on our capacity to deliver,” Oxfam interim Executive Director Chema Vera said in a statement.
The Situation in the U.S.
The total number of COVID-19 diagnoses in the U.S. rose to more than 1,551,000 as of 8 PM eastern time yesterday, and the death toll surpassed 93,400.
Unemployment claims in the U.S. rose by 2.4 million last week, according to new Labor Department data, bringing the total number of claims since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. up to nearly 39 million.
President Trump traveled to a Ford factory in Ypsilanti, Mich. today amid a spat with leaders of the state over voting protocols for upcoming elections. In a tweet yesterday, Trump threatened to cut funding to the state after falsely accusing it of sending 7.7 million absentee ballots to Michiganders. In fact, Michigan is sending applications to registered voters that they can use to request absentee ballots ahead of August and November elections (it’s an attempt to avoid crowds of people at ballot boxes amid the outbreak). Trump later deleted the tweet and posted another with corrected language, but stood by his accusation that Michigan illegally sent absentee ballot applications. Trump has been outspoken about his antipathy towards vote-by-mail options ahead of this year’s elections, claiming such a move would lead to voter fraud, despite evidence to the contrary.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced it will be providing up to $1.2 billion to drug company AstraZeneca to aid in vaccine development. The funding is an attempt to speed up production and make at least 300 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine available by October 2020.
It’s been clear for months that the coronavirus outbreak is disproportionately affecting people of color. A new analysis from the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, KPCC/LAist and The Southern Illinoisan found that a similar racial disparity is playing out within the nation’s nursing homes. Nursing homes with at least a quarter black or Latino residents had at least one COVID-19 case twice as often as homes with smaller black or Latino populations, the study found.
A study by Columbia University published yesterday found that if social distancing restrictions had been established one week earlier in the U.S., 55% of deaths as of May 3 could have been prevented—amounting to about 36,000 lives. “Our findings underscore the importance of early intervention and aggressive response in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors wrote.
Lastly, Macy’s said today that it faces up to $1 billion in losses during its first quarter of 2020 because of the pandemic. Other retailers are also suffering—Pier 1 Imports is closing its stores, while J.C. Penney has filed for bankruptcy.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
‘We Do This For The Living.’ Inside New York’s Citywide Effort to Bury Its Dead
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 20,000 people in New York City alone. The unfathomable death toll presents both a logistical and psychological challenge for those involved with laying the victims to rest. TIME reporter W.J. Hennigan, and photographer Natalie Keyssar, spent more than a month documenting the process of burying New York’s dead. Read more here.
How COVID-19 Will Shape the Class of 2020 For the Rest of Their Lives
This pandemic is a defining moment for all of us. But for college seniors in the class of 2020, COVID-19 won’t just shape their transition into adulthood, it’ll change the course of their entire lives. Read more in TIME’s cover story this week, by Charlotte Alter.
High School Seniors Share What It’s Like to Come of Age During a Pandemic
Similarly, high school seniors are set to graduate at a time in which the future is less clear than ever. Hear from the teens themselves, in their own words, as they’re forced to change their plans for what’s next. Read more here.
The Voices of Black and Brown People Matter—and They’re Finally Being Heard
Thirteen-year-old Naomi Wadler has long been a voice for black and brown youth. Now she’s speaking out against COVID-19’s disproportionate affect on Americans of color. “Stories like these are as old as this country,” she writes. Read more here.
You Don’t Have to Be Hopeful to Fight for a Better Future
Before COVID-19 struck, today’s youth were already fighting for their futures in a movement to combat climate change. When it comes to dealing with COVID-19, one young climate activist offers this advice: “Whether it’s climate or another issue, you don’t have to feel hope to be motivated to keep fighting for what you believe in.” Read more here.
How Remdesivir Moved From Back Shelf to Best Hope for Treating COVID-19
TIME senior health writer Alice Park reveals how remdesivir went from an 11-year-old experimental (and largely unsuccessful) drug for Ebola to the first approved treatment for COVID-19—an unprecedented journey, as Park puts it. Read more here.
How Targeted Lockdowns for Seniors Can Help the U.S. Reopen
The authors of a new study into targeted lockdowns offer a possible solution to reopening America: keeping the elderly more isolated, as a protective measure, can reduce deaths. But their plan is more complex than it sounds. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here.
Today’s newsletter was written by Jasmine Aguilera and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
沒有留言:
張貼留言