The death toll from COVID-19 in the worst hit part of Brazil's remote Amazon region may be three times the official count, according to data from public notaries reviewed by Reuters, as the spread of the disease overwhelms the public health system.
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO/MANAUS, Brazil - The death toll from COVID-19 in the worst hit part of Brazil’s remote Amazon region may be three times the official count, according to data from public notaries reviewed by Reuters, as the spread of the disease overwhelms the public health system.
Data from the national association of public notaries as of Thursday showed 385 people died of COVID-19 in Amazonas in April. However, the notaries also registered 999 other deaths - attributed to pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome and other respiratory failures, which some officials in the state believe should be counted as COVID-19 deaths for a total of 1,384. The 999 deaths are four times the 249 fatalities attributed to those other diseases in April 2019.
“The number could be higher. We have to wait for the process of investigation into what really was the cause of death of the person. The question of deaths is sensitive and you have to be sure about the cause of death of a person,” said the representative, who asked not be named, citing ministry policy.The ministry representative said that it is only possible to know for certain if a person had coronavirus by testing for it.
Brazil is the country worst hit by the coronavirus in Latin America and some public health officials, politicians and other observers around the world say they are concerned by President Jair Bolsonaro playing down the gravity of the crisis. Three Brazilian doctors and a local official interviewed by Reuters said they had little doubt that the wave of deadly respiratory illnesses without a firm coronavirus diagnosis are part of the same pandemic.
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