Scientists backlash after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced that he would soon transition the COVID-19 phase from a pandemic to an endemic.
According to Brazilian media on the 17th, President Bolsonaro said during a visit to the northeastern province of Bahia the day before that the Ministry of Health will declare an endemic transition at the end of this month, and the people will be free from masks. President Bolsonaro said that Marcelo Quiroga, Minister of Health, was meeting with the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to discuss the matter.
In response, Brazilian scientists are arguing that declaring an end to the pandemic would be a big mistake and would result in a looser response to the coronavirus. Scientists point out that the number of confirmed cases and deaths in Brazil is slowing, but that COVID-19 is not over and that vaccination is not yet sufficient to turn COVID-19 into an endemic.
In the last week, Brazil recorded an average of 43,35 confirmed cases per day, and the average daily death toll was 345, which is a decline for the 20th day.
[Photo source: EPA = Yonhap News]
