Panel SA: Covid test with positive result in pharmacy rises again

Covid tests with a positive result in pharmacies rose again after going through an eight-week period of decline.

This is what the new survey by Abrafarma (an association of large drugstore chains) shows, carried out between the 21st and 27th of March.

The number almost doubled in a week in Brazilian pharmacies. There were about 13,000 confirmed cases in the period. This number represents more than 15% of tests, compared to a proportion of less than 10% in the previous week.

In Abrafarma’s assessment, the increase causes apprehension because it coincides with some relaxation measures.

In a note, the entity’s CEO, Sérgio Mena Barreto, states that “while the volume of tests performed rose 1.3% in one week, the jump in positive diagnoses was 79%.

On March 17, former governor João Doria announced the end of the mandatory use of masks in closed environments in the state of São Paulo, with few exceptions. Rio de Janeiro had released its use in the first week of March. The measure has been contested by many experts, who think it is too soon for release.

Abrafarma’s monitoring, which has been carried out since the beginning of the pandemic, usually anticipates trends in the scenario of the disease numbers. The data are sent by pharmacies to the Ministry of Health.

According to Abrafarma, since April 2020, when the service was released by Anvisa and began to be offered in retail pharmaceuticals, establishments have carried out almost 17 million rapid tests. In total, the share of positives is 23%.

The peak of positives took place in the week of January 17 to 23, when it exceeded 43% of pharmacy exams. The lowest point was 6.6% in the first week of December, when the ômicron began to arrive in Brazil.

Joana Cunha with Andressa Motter