Positive cases of Covid in the private network reach 24.1% in the second half of May

The rate of exams for Covid with a positive result in the first half of May practically doubled, according to a survey carried out by Abramed (Brazilian Association of Diagnostic Medicine), which counts the analyzes carried out in the laboratories linked to the entity.

In the week from April 25th to May 1st, the positivity rate, that is, the rate of exams with a positive result for Sars-CoV-2, was 12.9%.

The following week, which ended on May 8, it rose to 17.1%.

And on May 9-15, the last analyzed by the association, it rose to 24.1%. This means that out of every four tests in the associated laboratories, one is positive for the coronavirus.

The increase, according to experts, may indicate a new upward trend in cases in the country, although it is still too early to talk about a resurgence of Covid.

The positivity rate peaked in the country at the end of January, when it reached 60%. At that time, Brazil was experiencing a wave caused by the omicron variant of the coronavirus. In the same period, records of more than 280,000 cases per day were recorded.

According to the association’s disclosure on Tuesday (17), there was also an increase in tests carried out in the last week compared to the previous week, of about 40%. The exact number, however, has not yet been reported.

In the two previous weeks, the increase was 8.4%, between the weeks of May 2 and 8, and 26%, in the week of April 25 to May 1, in relation to the previous seven days.

Abramed was founded in 2010 and brings together some of the main diagnostic laboratories in the country, operating in several states.

The data refer to tests that actively look for the virus in the body and therefore indicate an ongoing infection, and not those that look for specific antibodies against the coronavirus in the blood and may indicate a past infection.