release date: Aug 31, 2023 – 3:08 PM | last updated: August 31, 2023 – 3:18 PM
In the first few weeks of August, Brazil saw an increase in positive COVID-19 tests. That’s what two independent reports released on Wednesday point out. Both surveys showed an average increase of about 7 percentage points, meaning that the number of people testing positive for the Sars-Cov-2 virus has doubled since the beginning of the month.
A study by the Brazilian Association of Diagnostic Medicine (Abmed), which represents laboratories and private clinics, showed a 7.5% increase in positive test rates. It was 6.3% from July 29th to August 4th, but rose to 13.8% from August 12th to 18th.
Another source is Dasa, DB Molecular, Fleury, Israelta Albert Einstein Hospital (HIAE), Hilab, HLAGyn, and the Instituto Todos pela Saúde (ITpS), which analyzes data from the Sabin Institute. The institute recorded an 8.3% increase in the number of positive tests. It rose from 7% to 15.3% in the week from July 22nd to August 19th.
According to ITpS, the highest rates are observed in the 49-59 year old (21.4%) and 80+ year old (20.9%) age groups.
This result is likely due to circulation of the omicron subvariant Eris, which is highly transmissible but not associated with severe cases or deaths.
Despite this high number of cases, Alberto Chebabo, president of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases, said the current wave of coronavirus could last four to six weeks in the country.
Eris Mutant Symptoms
The intensity of Eris mutant symptoms varies from person to person. These resemble symptoms of other variants of COVID-19, such as fever, sore throat, fatigue, headache, cough, and loss of smell and taste.
protection
Experts recommend that people with weakened immune systems from disease or transplants should be especially careful when dealing with crowds. It’s important to have up-to-date vaccinations, wear a mask at all times, and avoid crowded places.
They also warn that until last month only 15% of those who received the bivalent vaccine had received it.
68% increase in positive cases globally, 48% decrease in deaths
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between July 24 and August 20, nearly 1.5 million new cases of COVID-19 were registered worldwide, a 68% increase from the previous 28 days total. did. About 2,000 people died during the same period, down 48% from the previous quarter.
From July 17 to August 13, the number of hospitalizations increased by 21%, bringing the number of patients to 49,380. compared to his 28 days prior to the reporting period.
According to information from G1