Tourist destinations register Covid and flu peak after New Year’s Eve

Infected tourist groups in Bahia and Piauí, emergencies and emergency rooms with peaks in demand in Ceará and Santa Catarina and even a lack of anti-flu medication in pharmacies in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Tourist cities known for hosting some of the country’s main New Year’s Eve parties recorded an increase in new cases of Covid and influenza after the end of the year festivities.​

One of the most emblematic cases is that of Cajueiro da Praia, a city of 7,200 inhabitants on the coast of Piauí.

The municipality recorded 123 cases of Covid-19 in the first days of 2022, a number equivalent to 10% of the 1,269 cases of the disease recorded in the place since the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020.

Of the 123 new cases registered this year, 103 were people who came from other cities to spend the end of the year in the region. The majority went to participate in the Réveillon das Emoções party, an event with six days of shows that took place in the district of Barra Grande do Piauí.

The prefecture informed that, following the recommendation of the state government, it did not hold end-of-the-year parties, but private companies organized New Year’s Eve parties throughout the Piauí coast.

The municipality claims to have carried out testing for Covid-19, carried out an active search for suspected cases and supervised compliance with health protocols in inns. “However, our recommendations were not followed by everyone”, says the municipal secretary of Health of Cajueiro da Praia, Joara Mendes.

In Bahia, there was a significant increase in cases of Covid-19 in Salvador. The Bahian capital had been registering no more than 30 daily cases of coronavirus until January 3. In the last two days, however, cases have grown dramatically, with 112 cases on Monday (3) and 111 on Tuesday (4).

The number, however, tends to be underestimated, as not all patients with flu-like symptoms are having access to Covid-19 tests in the private network, as reported by patients heard by the leaf.

Part of the new cases registered in the capital of Bahia are people who spent New Year’s Eve in resorts such as Itacaré, Boipeba and Morro de São Paulo.

A group of friends from Salvador who spent New Year’s Eve in Itacaré, for example, was almost entirely contaminated.

Of the 12 friends who went to the region together, 10 tested positive for Covid. All were vaccinated with two or three doses of the vaccine and have mild symptoms.

“Symptoms started right away in the first few days, mainly coughing. But it was a generalized thing”, said doctor Ana Vitória, 25, one of the people in the group that was contaminated.

The group went to Itacaré to participate in New Year’s Eve N1, one of the most popular parties on the south coast of Bahia. According to Ana Vitória, the participants had to present proof of vaccination for accreditation at the party. At the venue of the event, however, the use of a mask was not required.

The advance of suspected cases increased the pressure on hospitals in southern Bahia. The Costa do Cacau Regional Hospital, the largest in Ilhéus, had an increase of more than 150% in the attendance of patients with flu-like symptoms caused by influenza, Covid-19 or both.

In Porto Seguro, 24 new cases of Covid were recorded this Tuesday (4). Another 20 are treated as suspects.

There was also a peak of cases in Ceará. The percentage of positive tests for Covid, which was less than 1% at the beginning of December, rose to 11% at the testing post at Fortaleza airport. At the bus station testing station, the rate reached 20%.

The advance of cases made Governor Camilo Santana (PT) announce this Wednesday (5th) the cancellation of Carnival and pre-Carnival parties, in addition to reducing the audience limit for events, which will be 500 people in open places and 250 in closed.

The Unimed network in Fortaleza recorded this Monday (3) the highest number of calls in emergency and virtual emergency care since the beginning of the pandemic – there were 1,403 in a single day, the majority with flu-like symptoms.

“We are having a very large number of cases of influenza and Covid, which is worrying, but it is not surprising. of the Unimed cooperative in Fortaleza.

The situation was no different in southern states of the country. In Florianópolis, the Epidemiological Surveillance issued an alert on Tuesday drawing attention to the increase in cases of Covid-19.

In 48 hours, according to the agency, 1,071 new cases were registered in health services in the capital of Santa Catarina, overloading care. Between 40% to 53% of tests carried out in the last few days have a positive result for Covid. “This rate is extremely high,” said the surveillance.

This week, the private hospital Baía Sul and Unimed Florianópolis reported that the demand for patients was high and the waiting time could be longer than normal.

This Wednesday, Procon de Florianópolis notified pharmacies in the city due to the unjustified increase in the price of Covid-19 tests sold by establishments. The high would be related to the greater search of consumers for these exams in recent days.

On social networks, netizens posted photos of queues in laboratories that perform Covid tests in the capital of Santa Catarina.

In Balneário Camboriú, there are reports of lack of tests in pharmacies. On Tuesday, the prefecture ordered three health units to work with extended hours. “Since Christmas we have seen a significant increase in the number of patients with respiratory symptoms,” said Mayor Fabrício Oliveira (Podemos).

On the coast of Rio de Janeiro, cities like Búzios, Arraial do Cabo and Paraty register a lack of medication for the flu. The arrival of thousands of tourists in the New Year contributed to pressure the demand in the municipalities.

The report contacted three pharmacies in Arraial, a sought after tourist destination in the Lagos region. All of them lacked syrups and anti-flu.

“There’s been a lot of medicine missing. Everyone around me either has a bad throat or is in the hospital. Really, there’s been a lot of cases here,” said Matheus Lopes, 25, who works at one of the city’s drugstores.

In another pharmacy, the demand for the antiflu Naldecon is such that the product ran out on the same day that the stock was replenished. In the absence of drugs recommended by doctors, professionals said they have indicated alternative or generic remedies.

Despite the shortage, the municipality has no Covid patients hospitalized in infirmary beds, according to state government data.

The report contacted three drugstores in Paraty, which also reported the lack of Naldecon. One of them has not had the medicine for two weeks. Demand for testing has also increased – one of the pharmacies received more than 20 calls a day over New Year’s week from customers seeking testing for Covid-19.

In Búzios, three pharmacies sought by the report reported a lack of medicines such as the antiviral Tamiflu, syrups, corticosteroids and throat lozenges.

The city is also with the occupation of Covid beds practically zero. There are only two ward beds occupied, and none in the ICU.

Ana Luiz Albuquerque and Matheus Rocha, from Rio de Janeiro, and José Matheus Santos, from Recife collaborated