Saúde raises risk alert on new variant identified in South Africa

The Ministry of Health issued an alert to the health departments about the new variant of the coronavirus B.1.1.529, discovered in South Africa. According to the document, until this Friday (26) no case of Covid has yet been identified. in Brazil caused by this strain, named omicron by the WHO (World Health Organization).

Also on Friday, President Jair Bolsonaro (non-party) ruled out closing airports but said a new wave of the coronavirus is on the way.

“You will not seal [a entrada do vírus], boy. What is this madness? I mean, the airport closed, the virus doesn’t enter? The virus is already in here,” he said in the morning. In the afternoon, he reiterated his position and stated that “Brazil can no longer stand a lockdown.”

Despite Bolsonaro’s speech, Brazil did not carry out a lockdown, the radical confinement to combat the transmission of the coronavirus, during the pandemic. In this type of intervention, the population has very reduced mobility for a certain period, as a strategy to contain the spread.

Bolsonaro also stated that he debated with the director-president of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), Antônio Barra Torres, and the Minister of Civil Affairs, Ciro Nogueira (PP), the measures to be taken.

“I spoke with Admiral Barra Torres, with the Ciro of the Civil House discussing Argentina. Anyone who comes here by car from Argentina, no problem. Anyone who comes by plane has to be quarantined for four days. Let’s take rational measures,” he said, without make it clear whether the decision has already been taken or not and whether it would extend to other borders.

The Health document released to the secretariats does not provide an instruction in this regard. It was directed to the CIEVS (Strategic Health Surveillance Information Center) network, which brings together the country’s surveillance system for public health emergencies.

The text directs networks to immediately notify the folder when there are suspected or confirmed cases of the new variant. In suspected cases of travelers from countries with the strain in circulation, the person must be monitored for 14 days when they present symptoms of the disease and for seven days if they are asymptomatic.

This Friday, Anvisa suggested limiting the entry into Brazil of those who were, in the last 14 days, in six African countries: South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland (Eswatini), Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Today there is no list of countries that are restricted from entering Brazil. In the past, the government has adopted limitations on those who have been to the UK, South Africa, Northern Ireland and India, also to prevent the arrival of variants.

In a technical note, Anvisa justifies that places like Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom have already adopted measures to restrict the transit of travelers from regions with registration of the micron, which is potentially more transmissible.

Detected earlier this week in South Africa, it was classified this Friday by WHO as a “concern variant”. It was directly given this label, without first being considered an “attention variant” (title given to those that must have their effects accompanied), due to the large number of mutations it presents.

There are 50 in total and more than 30 in protein S (from spike, or spike), used by Sars-Cov-2 to enter human cells. The amount is also worrying because from this protein vaccines are produced. For the time being, there is no research to say the effect of immunizing agents against omicron (the name is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet, due to the tradition of naming virus variants with this alphabet).

Also on Friday, Barra Torres, from Anvisa, demanded that the government start to demand a vaccination certificate against Covid for entry into Brazil. as revealed to sheet, the government has ignored since the 12th the suggestion of the agency to adopt the “vaccine passport” for entry by land or on international flights.

Since December 2020, the government has required the presentation of the RT-PCR test with a negative result, but does not charge a vaccination certificate or quarantine, despite Anvisa suggesting this measure for months.

In Barra’s assessment, the measure, which dislikes President Jair Bolsonaro, is necessary to prevent the country from becoming an attraction for “anti-vaccine tourism”.

“To avoid that in the winter period in the northern hemisphere, where people normally travel on vacation, and we also have the issue of the extremely valued dollar and the euro, we will not have anti-vaccine tourism here in Brazil,” Barra told sheet.

In the reading of members of Anvisa, the government must accept the entry restrictions of travelers who have passed through the six countries with registrations of the new variant. The vaccine passport, on the other hand, is a delicate issue.

Barra ponders that the measures to block flights from African countries and require a vaccination passport will not necessarily shield Brazil from the virus, but serve to alleviate the problem.

“We have to prepare as soon as possible and strengthen, close. It is not closing Brazil. Anvisa, on the contrary, is not proposing to keep the border closed, it is proposing that it be opened with the regulation. The person proves that he is vaccinated, if not proving can be questioned and deported. We are not proposing to close, we are proposing to increase security,” he said.

As for prevention, the alert document released by Health to the secretariats emphasizes that the measures indicated by the folder remain the same for the population in the face of the omicron variant. Among them, social distancing, hand hygiene, the use of masks, cleaning and disinfection of environments and the isolation of suspected and confirmed cases according to medical guidelines.

“These measures must be used in an integrated manner, in order to control the transmission of Covid-19 and its variants, also allowing the gradual resumption of activities carried out by the various sectors and the safe return of social interaction”, says the message.

The text also points out the need to increase the follow-up of the tests of people who had some connection with the variant’s circulation regions — in addition to avoiding non-essential trips, in particular to areas with a significantly higher incidence of the strain.

_{Ana Estela de Sousa Pinto, from Brussels, and Ítalo Nogueira, from Rio de Janeiro collaborated.}