Brazil: five million infected by COVID-19 and other numbers that are crazy
While the poorest suffer the ravages of the coronavirus, Brazilian billionaires increase their fortunes during the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has almost 36 million people infected in the world. Of these, approximately 14% reside in a South American country: Brazil. The nation surpassed five million positive cases on Wednesday, according to data from the National Council of Health Secretaries.
According to Brazilian media such as Brasil de Fato, this record number occurs in parallel with the worst levels of isolation recorded in the country since the start of the pandemic. In this regard, the geolocation and technology platform Inloco warns that for almost a month the daily rates have increased desperately.
Only in the 24 hours prior to Wednesday, 31,553 coronavirus infections were confirmed. In addition, there are currently more than 468 thousand active cases under follow-up. Meanwhile, the other tragic balance — the deceased — is close to 150 thousand, including 734 in the record day.
In this sense, the fatality rate, which measures the number of deaths among those who contracted the disease, is 3%. However, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará have rates above the national average.
The exponential curve of COVID-19
In Brazil, the disease continues to grow almost five times faster than that registered until June. In detail: 114 days passed from the first case, in February, until one million patients were registered, on June 19.
Then, less than a month later, on July 16, the number of infections rose to two million. Then the three million mark was reached 25 days later, on August 9. Also 25 days later, on September 3, the coronavirus had already reached four million people in the country.
So, there was a relative slowdown in the speed with which the country reached five million infected: 34 days later. However, these results are seen after a very high plateau, since there had been four months with weekly records of more than 200 thousand infections and six thousand deaths.
Precisely, that record placed the South American giant among the three nations with the highest absolute number of cases of the disease, behind India and the United States. In addition, it currently ranks second in total deaths and is sixth on the list of deaths per million inhabitants.
The lapidary phrase: with less than 3% of the world’s population, Brazil has about 14% of those infected by COVID-19 in the world.
Chaos in Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo is one of the cities most affected by the pandemic. There, the lethality of the coronavirus is 60% higher in poor neighborhoods, compared to rich neighborhoods, A recent study by the University of São Paulo (USP) determined that the current reality produces the feeling that the city lives in different centuries, in regards of how it is fighting the pandemic.
“The data can show that the mortality burden of the covid has a very clear social determination. It is nothing new, but it is a reaffirmation of the social determination of deaths, which is no different in the COVID. The risk of becoming infected is socially determined and the consequences of the infection are even worse”, states the research.
The study was based on death data confirmed by the municipal Health Department and on socioeconomic information from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
So the city was divided into three types of neighborhoods: richer, intermediate and poorer. Crossing this with the numbers, it was found that the Brás (intermediate), Pari (intermediate) and Cachoeirinha (poorest) neighborhoods concentrate the highest number of deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants: 87, 84.4 and 83.9, respectively.
On the other hand, Bela Vista (richer) has 20.7 deaths in the same terms of comparison, as does Butantã, with 23.4 deaths, and Jardim Paulista with 23.7.
The richest neighborhoods register the lowest number of deaths, 36 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the poorest, the highest: 57.7 deaths. The neighborhoods classified as “intermediate” have 51.1 deaths.
The conclusion was that although COVID-19 does not choose its victims, the quality of the health and economic protection offered by the State determines which part of the population is most affected by the disease.
Health care levels in Brazil
In Sao Paulo, the poorest regions are characterized by poor hospital infrastructure and poor basic sanitation and water networks. And this last statement coincides with another study carried out by the Pólis Institute, which follows the same line of research.
The Polis Institute survey, conducted between March 21 and May 27, was based on official data. One of the findings is related to the significant presence of low-income women who are responsible for supporting the family in the territories with the highest fatality rates. That detail drew that the victims of the disease are also marked by gender.
Additionally, the research determined that for the poorest population the possibility of working from home does not correspond to reality. ‘Working from home’ even becomes an aggravating factor when schools and daycare centers are closed.
Likewise, the color of the skin is also relevant. Most of the deaths occur in places with the highest concentration of Afro-descendant population. For example, Cachoeirinha has about 35% of Afro-descendant residents and is among the neighborhoods with the highest fatality rates.
There is also another point of correlation between informal work and the fatality rate. Here, the first aspect is more expressive and the rates are also higher. In Grajaú — for example — which has a high fatality rate, approximately 70% of the workers are informal, between 25% and 37% do not have a fixed place of work and 48% cannot work from home.
The Pólis Institute points out that, even before the pandemic hit, professionals in the field had already hypothesized that conditions of territorial inequality would profoundly impact the spread of the disease.
On the other side of the fence
While the poorest suffer the ravages of the coronavirus, Brazilian billionaires increase their fortunes during the pandemic. Between March and June, at least 42 Brazilian billionaires saw their wealth grow by 34 billion dollars, or about 177 billion reais.
This assertion is derived from the report “Who Pays the Bill? — Tax the wealthy to face the COVID-19 crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean”, by Oxfam Brazil,published days ago.
According to Katia Maia, Executive Director of Oxfam Brazil, the data shows that “COVID-19 is not the same for everyone. While the majority of the population runs the risk of becoming contaminated so as not to lose their job or buy their family’s food the next day, billionaires have nothing to worry about. They live in another world, that of privileges and fortunes that continue to grow in the midst of perhaps the greatest economic, social and health crisis on the planet in the last century”.
At the same time, in Brazil, the unemployment rate increased 1.2% between March and May 2020, compared to the index from December 2019 to February this year. This means that unemployment reached 12.9% of the economically active population, according to the Continuous National Survey by IBGE Household Samples, published on June 30.
A tax “reform”
The report revealed that tax revenues for 2020 in Latin America and the Caribbean may fall by two percentage points of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is equivalent to 59% of public investment in health.
Faced with the current situation, Maia assures that “it is time for the Brazilian elite to contribute by renouncing privileges and paying more and better taxes”. In her opinion, if there were a tax on large fortunes in Brazil, that situation could change for the better.
In this regard, the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, handed over to the National Congress an alleged “tax reform”. However, it only addresses the unification and increase of PIS and Cofins, two taxes that affect consumption and, therefore, affect the poorest population more significantly.
Unfortunately, the minister has not made any reference to a single path that leads to the taxation of large fortunes, inheritances, profits and dividends.
“Between the poor proposal presented by the Federal Government and the speeches of the leaders of Congress, who defend a tax reform aimed at simplifying and improving the investment climate, the majority of the population is scared. No one seems to intend to touch the privileges of the wealthiest, who have never paid a fair share of taxes. It is as if the majority of the population does not have the right to a decent life”, is Maia’s conclusion.
Therefore, Oxfam offers some proposals to transform this reality. Among them, it highlighted creating an extraordinary tax on large fortunes and public bailout packages for large companies with conditions. They also talk about taxes on extraordinary results of large corporations, tax relief for those in poverty, among other proposals.
The document also warns about the need to “contribute to the debate on the urgency of seeking solutions for the future of Brazil and Latin America. The resumption of economic development will only be possible with the inclusion of the whole of society. For this, it is urgent to confront privileges and economic elites. Brazil has the opportunity to advance in this direction by discussing a tax reform that is fair and supportive”.
Figures compiled by Oxfam were based on the 2019 Forbes Billionaires List. Additionally, they assessed the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires Ranking.
Extreme poverty post-COVID-19
Due to the pandemic, the World Bank warns that extreme poverty may grow back in the world for the first time in 20 years. If the scenario is confirmed, the planet will have the highest rates of people living in precarious conditions in this century.
The institution predicts that the COVID-19 crisis will lead between 88 and 115 million people to poverty this year. So extreme poverty will affect more than 9% of the world’s population in 2020. “The magnitude of this effect is still very uncertain, but it is clear that the pandemic will lead to the first increase in global poverty since 1998”, they conclude.
To date, the number of global deaths caused by COVID-19 exceeds one million people. Meanwhile, the number of infected people has already exceeded 36 million.
