Occupation of ICUs for Covid exceeds 80% in 8 states and DF

The occupancy of ICUs (intensive care units) for Covid cases is above the level of 80% in eight states and the Federal District, in a similar situation to last week in the survey carried out by the Ministry of Health. leaf.

Rondônia, with 92% of its intensive beds occupied, has the most worrying situation in the country, followed by Mato Grosso do Sul, with 90%, and Pernambuco and Piauí (both 88%).

The high in Rondônia, which maintained 79% in the last week, occurred even with the increase in the supply of beds, which went from 54 to 65 in the period.

Most of the beds were opened in Porto Velho. Three hospitals in the capital have 100% occupancy of the adult beds reserved for Covid-19.

Regarding pediatric ICU beds, two of the four vacancies are occupied, one in the capital and one in Cacoal, a municipality located 480 kilometers south of Porto Velho.

The increase in hospitalizations in Rondônia occurs exactly during the back-to-school period. Students resume attendance at schools in the state from this Wednesday (9).

The Porto Velho Education Department claims to have worked to ensure that students return safely to educational establishments.

“As students return to school, we will intensify the distance indicated. At this first moment, the vaccine will not be required, but throughout the year we will talk to parents”, says secretary Gláucia Negreiros.

In schools in the capital, the use of masks will be mandatory for students over three years old and for school employees.

There is also a recommendation that classes and activities, when possible, be held outdoors. In classrooms, the orientation is to keep the environments ventilated, with doors and windows open.

In Mato Grosso do Sul, 90% of the 200 ICU beds for Covid are occupied. Although it is at a high level, the rate is lower than last week, when the occupancy rate of intensive care units was 103%. The drop in the percentage is possibly a reflection of the creation of 44 new beds.

This Monday (7), the moving average was 2,830 cases, a value also lower than last week, when the average was 3,197 cases per day. This Tuesday (8), the state reached the mark of 10 thousand deaths due to the disease.

“This record shows that the coronavirus pandemic is not over yet, and it is necessary for citizens to complete their vaccination cycle, to be more protected against the virus”, said the state government. Currently, 74% of the population of Mato Grosso do Sul has completed the vaccination schedule.

Pernambuco has 88% of occupancy in the 1,045 available in the state network. The state is experiencing an acceleration in contamination, driven by the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

In all, there were 890 records of people with severe respiratory problems between January 31 and February 5, which represents an increase of 6% compared to the previous week. Requests for ICU beds remain at a plateau of more than 650 requests per week.

There are more than 900 patients hospitalized in intensive care units – the same level as in July last year and 11% more than 15 days ago. The acceleration is still reflected in deaths, with 59 deaths from Covid-19 last week, an increase of 157% in two weeks.

Because of this, the government canceled the optional point during Carnival and reduced the capacity for parties to up to 500 people in open spaces and 300 people in closed places, with a negative test and vaccination passport required, until February 24.

Between February 25th and March 1st, carnival period, all parties are prohibited, whether public or private. The objective, according to the government, is to avoid agglomerations during the traditional festive period.

In Piauí, the occupancy rate remains high even with the opening of some beds in the last week: 88% of the 136 public places in intensive care are still with patients. In the capital Teresina, the situation is a little better, but similar, with 83% of the 120 beds occupied.

Still in the Northeast, Ceará records an occupancy rate of 81% in the 367 ICU beds for the treatment of Covid. In the capital, Fortaleza, 82% of the 201 vacancies in intensive care units are occupied, according to information from the Health Department.

With more than 28,000 active cases — 2,296 in the last 24 hours — Bahia received 16 more ICU vacancies for the disease, a number that increased from 594 to 610 beds in the period. In the meantime, the occupancy rate dropped by one percentage point, from 72% to 71%, according to the Bahia Department of Health.

In Rio Grande do Norte, of the 157 ICU beds available in the state public network, 133 were occupied earlier this week (20 with unconfirmed cases), an occupancy rate of 84.7%.

The state panel also pointed to seven other blocked beds. Among the 13 pediatric ICUs, 8 had patients.

In São Paulo, this Monday (7), 3,859 of the 5,605 ICU beds made available by the state were occupied with confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19, equivalent to 68.85%.

Compared to the figure seven days ago, the occupancy rate was higher, 73.24%. At the time, 4,084 of the 5,576 beds remained occupied.

For the State Department of Health, the data point to lighter cases in hospital beds, a result of good vaccination coverage in the state.

In the interior of São Paulo, Marília is the DRS (Regional Department of Health) with the highest occupancy rate for Covid-19, 88.5%.

In the opinion of Wallace Casaca, coordinator of the SP Covid-19 Info Tracker platform, created by researchers from USP and Unesp with support from Fapesp to monitor the evolution of the pandemic, this drop in the occupancy rate in the state means that the pandemic is slowing down, however, there are regions with very critical hospital occupancy rates, especially in the countryside.

In addition to Marília, it is the case of the DRS of Ribeirão Preto and São José do Rio Preto, for example. In these places, the ICU rate is above 80%.

The moving average of new admissions in the state of São Paulo decreased from 1,480 on January 31st to 1,201 on February 7th.

On the same date, the capital of São Paulo recorded 62% occupancy of public ICU beds, that is, 573 patients were hospitalized. On January 31, the index was 72%.

In Rio de Janeiro, the numbers of Covid have been cooling down. For two weeks, the occupancy of public ICUs has followed a trend of stabilization in the state (it was 59% this Tuesday) and a fall in the capital (69% this Monday), according to the latest available data.

The total number of confirmed cases, the number of tests carried out, the positivity rate of the exams and the occupation of wards also gradually decreased in this period.