May 20, 2020 - World

Confirmed coronavirus deaths in Brazil's largest city spike by over 400%

Orion Rummler

In this image, four men in hazmat suits carry a coffin — Men carry the coffin of someone who died from the coronavirus at the Vila Formosa cemetery, in the outskirts of São Paulo, Brazil, on May 20. Photo: Nelson Almeida/AFPvia Getty Images

Coronavirus deaths in São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil and the Western Hemisphere, have increased by over 485% since the city's health department began keeping track in April.

The big picture: Prolonged lapses in testing and tracking, documented by the Washington Post in April, have led to severely undercounted death tolls in Brazil. The country is reporting the third-most confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world, per Johns Hopkins data — only behind Russia and the U.S.

Over 65,000 of the country's confirmed cases are in São Paulo, per Johns Hopkins — an infection rate that overshadows all other cities in the country.

What's happening: 90% of ICU beds in São Paulo are occupied and "suspected deaths from COVID-19 have surged more than fivefold in the past month," the Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, fewer people are currently following the city's stay-at-home order.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro last week challenged state governors who vowed to defy his push to reopen businesses across the country.
São Paulo plans to build 700 more ICU beds and work with private hospitals to take in patients, the Post reports.

Go deeper: Bolsonaro has Brazil headed for worst recession ever

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Confirmed coronavirus deaths in Brazil's largest city spike by over 400%

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