The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, announced in a radio and TV address, on Sunday night (17), the end of the public health emergency due to the pandemic. According to the minister, the announcement was possible because of the improvement in the epidemiological scenario, the wide vaccination coverage and the assistance capacity of the Unified Health System (SUS).
Also according to the minister, a normative act on the decision will be published in the coming days. Queiroga said that the measure does not mean the end of covid-19. “We will continue to live with the virus. The Ministry of Health remains vigilant and prepared to take all necessary actions to ensure the health of Brazilians, in full respect of the Federal Constitution.”
Vaccination
In the speech, the minister said that the country carried out the largest vaccination campaign in its history, with the distribution of more than 476 million doses of vaccine. It was highlighted that more than 73% of Brazilians have already completed the vaccination schedule against covid-19 and 71 million received the booster dose.
The minister also highlighted the investments made in the area in the last two years. “The federal government, through the Ministry of Health, strengthened the SUS, with the expansion of surveillance capacity, expansion of primary and specialized health care. More than BRL 100 billion has been earmarked exclusively for fighting the pandemic, in addition to more than BRL 492 billion for regular health financing since 2020,” said Queiroga.
health emergency
Brazil identified the first contamination by the new coronavirus at the end of February 2020, while Europe already recorded hundreds of cases of covid-19. On February 3, 2020, the ministry declared Covid-19 a public health emergency of national importance.
The declaration of community transmission in the country came in March, the month in which the first death from the disease was recorded in the country. second last balance, released by the Ministry of Health this Sunday, Brazil has recorded, since the beginning of the pandemic, 5,337,459 cases of covid-19 and 661,960 deaths. There are 29,227,051 people who have recovered from the disease, which represents 96.6% of those infected. There are still 363,607 cases under follow-up.
