Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Renee Celeste and Biodun Iginla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Renee Celeste and Biodun Iginla. Show all posts

Monday, March 23, 2020

ANALYSIS: Coronavirus: Rio's favelas prepare for the worst


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Rio de Janeiro 
by Renee Celeste and Biodun Iginla, France24 News Analysts
Disadvantaged by poverty, unsanitary housing and poor to non-existent health services, the people of Rio de Janeiro's teeming favelas are preparing for the worst when the coronavirus takes a grip on Brazil.
"The irony is that the disease was brought to Brazil by plane, by the rich, but it is among the poor that it will explode," said Paulo Buss, director of the center for international relations at Fiocruz, a benchmark public health research center.
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The confirmation on Saturday of a first case of COVID-19 in the City of God, an emblematic favela which inspired the 2002 film of the same name, has set alarm bells ringing.
Almost a quarter of Rio's inhabitants -- or 1.5 million people -- live in the favelas, crowded jumbles of tin-roof shacks and narrow, impromptu streets.
They are often situated on the hills overlooking wealthy neighborhoods. That is the case of the Tabajaras favela, which has a spectacular view of the famous Copacabana beach district below.
"Here, people are very afraid," said Vania Ribeiro, vice president of the local neighborhood association.
"The nearest health center is the same that the elderly people in Copacabana and tourists from all over the world use," she said.
- 'Social vulnerability' -
The usual guidelines for how to protect oneself from the coronavirus, "social distancing" and "barrier gestures," are difficult to apply here.
"We are told that we have to wash our hands all the time, but what if the running water is regularly cut off? We're hardly going to wash our hands with mineral water!" Ribeiro said.
Rio city hall told us at France24 that it had "intensified prevention campaigns in the favelas," as the number of coronavirus cases in Brazil has shot to 1,546, with 25 deaths, making it the hardest-hit country in Latin America.
The standard advice from municipal authorities recommends that people who feel they may be infected self-isolate in a separate room from the rest of their family.
"If your home only has one room, infected people should stay at least a meter away from other family members," says city hall.
"Official statistics show that most of the favela houses have two or three rooms, with five to eight inhabitants. How can you isolate an infected person in these conditions?" asked Buss.
Beyond the high population density, unsanitary conditions in some dwellings also pose problems.
"In the favela, most houses have few windows, which prevents good air circulation, prevents daylight from entering and promotes the spread of respiratory diseases," said Patricia Canto, pulmonologist at the National School of Public Health.
In particular, tuberculosis continues to wreak havoc in the favelas, with infection rates sometimes 10 times higher than the national average.
"For the coronavirus, we say that we must protect the most vulnerable by talking about the elderly, but we must not forget the cases of social vulnerability," said Canto.
- Informal economy -
In the favelas, many people depend on the informal economy to make a living, and confinement risks taking away all forms of subsistence.
Rio has so far escaped the total confinement regime being experienced in much of Europe and neighboring Argentina.
But schools and shops have been closed, as have beaches and other tourist spots, where many street vendors from poor neighborhoods sell their products.
"People who do not have a formal job must continue to go out to work because they have no choice. Either they die of hunger, or they risk dying by catching the coronavirus," said Joelma Sousa, of the NGO Redes da Mare, located in a set of favelas near Rio's international airport.
But Sousa is especially worried about the hit and miss nature of the health services.
"The clinics are sorely lacking in equipment and staff. These days, they are closed at 3:00 pm, three hours earlier than normal, because there is no doctor left," she said.
In Tabajaras, Ribeiro says locals are facing another problem.
"Here, the most practical way to climb the heights of the hill is by motorbike taxi. We are going to ask the police to no longer make it compulsory for passengers to wear a helmet, otherwise the same helmet will pass from head to head."
That is just one of the many daily puzzles for poor neighborhoods in Rio in the midst of a global pandemic.

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Sunday, March 15, 2020

ANALYSIS: As Latin America takes steps to counter coronavirus, Brazil's Bolsonaro snubs warnings


Issued on: Modified: 
People cover their faces while leaving Hospital Cosme Argerich, after the first fatality from coronavirus in Latin America was confirmed, in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 7, 2020.
People cover their faces while leaving Hospital Cosme Argerich, after the first fatality from coronavirus in Latin America was confirmed, in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 7, 2020. © REUTERS/ Mariana Greif
by Renee Celeste and Biodun Iginla, France24 News Analysts, Lima, Peru
Guatemala logged its first fatality from coronavirus on Sunday as nations in South and Central America ramped up measures to contain the infection, with Panama banning entry of non-resident foreigners and Honduras closing its borders to passenger traffic for a week.
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The leaders of Argentina and Peru also announced border closures on Sunday to curb coronavirus. Argentina will close its borders for 15 days to non-residents, President Alberto Fernandez said in a televised press conference.
Public and private school classes would also be suspended until March 31, Fernandez said. National parks would be closed.
Argentina tightens travel restrictions
A day earlier, Argentina published a decree establishing a 30-day ban on entry to non-residents who have traveled to a country highly affected by coronavirus in the last 14 days.
The country has also temporarily stopped issuing visas to travellers from the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Britain and many European countries.
Peru suspends air and sea transport
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra said later on Sunday that Peru would also close its borders, suspending air and sea transport. He called on citizens to self-quarantine for 15 days to help slow the infection.
In Guatemala, Health Minister Hugo Monroy told a news conference the dead man was a 85-year-old who had recently returned from Madrid without showing signs of illness.
Doctors confirmed he had the virus early on Sunday, Monroy added. He later died in a private hospital.
Venezuela imposes "collective quarantine"
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday ordered a "collective quarantine" in seven states, including the capital Caracas to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic
Food distribution, health services, transport and security are exempted, Maduro said in a television address to his crisis-devastated nation where the economy had already collapsed long before the pandemic struck.
"The only way to contain the channels of transmission is to enter in a... drastic phase of collective quarantine throughout the country," said Maduro, adding the measures "deserves great social discipline, great self-control" and people should stay at home.
Caracas alone is home to six million people.
This latest measure to combat the pandemic comes after Maduro previously banned flights to and from Europe, Colombia, Panama and the Dominican Republic. He also suspended school and university classes, and sports events.
Venezuela reported seven new cases of the COVID-19 illness on Sunday, taking its total to 17.
Panama worst affected country in Central America
Panama, which has been the hardest hit in Central America, reported its first coronavirus death earlier this week. Panama's health minister Rosario Turner said the number of confirmed cases in the nation rose to 55 from 43 on Saturday.
From 11.59 p.m on Monday night, only Panamanians and foreign residents would be allowed to enter Panama, security minister Juan Pino said alongside Turner at a news conference.
Panama has ordered communal areas in hotels, discos, bars, and casinos and elsewhere closed, Turner said.
The government has also ordered shops in the country to be shut except supermarkets, pharmacies and medical centers. In addition, Panama has suspended elective surgical procedures and limited hospital visits by outpatients, Turner said.
Honduras imposes strict measures
On Sunday, Honduran police moved people off beaches and out of shops and cafes to enforce an order issued by the government on Saturday to prohibit gatherings of more than 50 people.
President Juan Orlando Hernandez said in a televised address that from one minute before midnight on Sunday, the country's borders would be closed for a week to all traffic, aside from the movement of goods.
All businesses in Honduras with a few exceptions including supermarkets, pharmacies, medical centers, hotels, gas stations and banks would be closed for the time being, Hernandez added.
Costa Rica's government has ordered the closure of all bars and discos as the tally of coronavirus infections in the country rose to 35, the health ministry said on Sunday.
Colombia restricts entry for foreigners
Colombia will block entry to travellers who are not residents or citizens and will close schools and universities from Monday in a bid to control the outbreak of coronavirus, President Ivan Duque said on Sunday.
Colombian citizens and foreign residents who arrive from March 16 will be required to perform an obligatory 14-day period of self isolation, Duque said on Twitter, while educators will start planning for students to study at home.
The Andean country reported its first case of COVID-19 on March 6, and its tally had risen to 34 cases by Sunday.
The government said it would close its border with Venezuela starting Saturday morning, following its earlier declaration of a health emergency, which suspended public gatherings of more than 500 people and blocked cruise ships from docking at its ports.
Brazil's Bolsonaro shrugs off advice  
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took selfies with supporters and celebrated the thousands of protestors gathering in major cities on Sunday, just days after he had called for a suspension of the demonstrations due to the spreading coronavirus.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro meets supporters during a protest against Brazil's Congress and Brazilian Supreme Court in front the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil March 15, 2020.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro meets supporters during a protest against Brazil's Congress and Brazilian Supreme Court in front the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil March 15, 2020. © REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Bolsonaro appeared to shrug off the advice of medical experts suggesting he remain isolated after several members of his delegation to Florida recently tested positive for the virus.
The president tested negative for the virus, as did U.S. President Donald Trump following their meeting, but newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo reported that Bolsonaro's medical team has suggested he remain isolated until early next week.
He will also take another test to rule out all chances that he has the virus, the paper reported on Friday.

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