Mônica Bergamo: Rate of positive Covid tests jumps from 10% to 40% in a month at Fleury

Positive results for Covid-19 tests carried out by the Fleury group, a national network of laboratories, reached a peak of 40.74% in the last week, between November 13th and 19th.

Four weeks ago, from October 16 to 22, this index was 10.43%. Since then, it has been increasing. From October 23 to 29, the weekly average of infected was 19.16%. This number jumped to 30.92% between October 30th and November 5th, and continued to rise the following week to 39.18%, from November 6th to 12th.

The laboratory data is in line with other surveys that point to the growth of Covid-19 cases in the country. The InfoGripe bulletin, released on Friday (18) by Fiocruz, showed that SARS-Cov-2, responsible for the coronavirus, appears in 47% of tests that point to a respiratory virus. A month ago, this rate was 30.2%.

The infectologist and clinical director of the Fleury Group, Celso Granato, stresses the importance of preventive measures such as the use of masks indoors. “And who is with the vaccine late, should look for a post to update the dose”, he guides.

He adds that, in addition to the increase in the positivity rate, the demand for Covid exams has also grown. “In mid-October, we were doing between 200 and 300 tests a day here at Fleury. Now, we are doing 2,000 tests a day”, he exemplifies.

In view of the high number of cases, Anvisa determined the return of the mandatory use of masks on planes and at airports in Brazil from Friday (25). In São Paulo, protection will also be mandatory again in public transport, starting on Saturday (26).

_{with BIANKA VIEIRA, KARINA MATIAS and MANOELLA SMITH}