Secretary says that Covid discharge deserves attention, when recommending return of the mask in SP

The increase in the number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 deserves attention and concern, in the opinion of the State Secretary of Health, Jean Gorinchteyn. The infectologist says, however, that the data is still much smaller than that of previous waves, when questioned by the Sheet why the government Rodrigo Garcia (PSDB) only recommended to the municipalities of São Paulo the return of the use of masks in closed environments, and did not determine the mandatory of the item.

At the end of the afternoon of this Tuesday (31), the Covid-19 Contingency Committee of the São Paulo government recommended the return of the use of masks in closed places across the state in the face of the growing trend of cases in recent weeks. But he warned that, if the need arises, the decision to only recommend masks indoors could be reassessed.

Gorinchteyn compared the current rates with those of February 2, when the state recorded the highest number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 this year.

According to the secretary, on Tuesday, 2,500 people were hospitalized with the disease, 767 of which were in ICUs (intensive care units). At the peak of February, there were 11,289 hospitalized, of which 4,084 were in ICUs.

“It’s a number much lower than what we’ve seen in the other waves, especially the second [março e abril de 2021]with 13,150 people hospitalized at the peak,” Gorinchteyn said.

According to the Mônica Bergamo column, the number of reported cases of Covid-19 in the state almost doubled from one week to the next, according to official data analyzed by the scientific committee. The daily average of new infections last week reached 4,830, up from 2,622 the week before, a jump of 84.2%.

In the municipal network of São Paulo, in one month the number of hospitalized patients with Covid-19 grew 273%, according to the Municipal Health Department, from 56 on April 30 to 209 hospitalizations this Tuesday. Cases of patients in ICUs jumped 352%, from 27 to 95 hospitalizations in intensive care units.

This Monday, Brazil recorded the highest moving average of Covid cases since the end of March, 24,993 infections per day, an increase of 31% compared to the data of two weeks ago.

To reinforce the use of masks, Gorinchteyn cited the drop in temperature in recent days, which, according to him, caused agglomeration of people in non-ventilated environments, as a factor for greater transmission of respiratory viruses.

“We are experiencing periods of low temperatures, including much lower figures for the period, ahead of winter,” he said.

The state of concern that made the government recommend the return of the use of masks should extend until the end of winter.

The secretary ruled out, for now, forcing the use of mask in schools. Some municipalities in the metropolitan region had already made the recommendation last week. Serra Negra, 139 km from the capital, published a decree on the 12th requiring the return of the protection item in all schools, both public and private.

The end of the mandatory use of masks in closed places was decreed by former governor João Doria (PSDB) on March 17 in reaction to the cooling of the pandemic in the state.

The holder of the Health portfolio also warned of the high number of people who have delayed doses of the vaccine against the new coronavirus.

According to the State Department of Health, 2.7 million people who should have taken the second dose did not return to their posts. Of these, about 1 million are young people between 12 and 29 years old. “These are the people who circulate the most, so the importance of the mask now,” said Gorinchteyn.

Among those who should receive booster vaccination, about 10 million did not take the third dose in the state. And 3 million were not immunized with the fourth dose.

According to the Ministry of Health, people from 12 years old can receive the third dose of vaccine. The fourth is for those over 60 years old.

For now, the government rules out reinforcing vaccination campaigns against Covid-19 and the flu.