WaPo headling (sorry, paywall prevents me from presenting more):
The coronavirus has come roaring back into Brazil, shattering illusions it wouldn’t
Sick people are being found dead at home and long lines are forming for intensive care beds. But the streets and beaches remain full of unmasked people who are either unaware or unbothered by the alarming health warnings
So it is not wise to depend on summer and its added vitamin D alone to protect you from covid, I guess...
It's a notable article. Some passages:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazil-coronavirus-rio-return/2020/12/05/33511bfe-35d0-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.htmlIn Rio de Janeiro, where the virus has already killed tens of thousands, upturned the economy and sent rates of homelessness soaring, moments that recall the darkest days of the pandemic are once more appearing in the news.
Sick people, unable to get help in the medical system, are again being found dead at home. Lines stretching into the hundreds are forming for intensive care beds. Hospital officials are warning of supply shortages and an imminent collapse in medical services.
...
Even the vaunted private heath-care system reached 98 percent capacity in its intensive care units this past week, officials said.
...
In May, during the worst weeks of the first wave, city life was vastly constrained. Even if Rio never fully locked down, shops and restaurants closed, people worked from home and several field hospitals were opened.
This time is different. There is neither talk of field hospitals, nor restrictions on businesses. The streets and beaches remain full of unmasked people who are either unaware or unbothered by the alarming health warnings.
...
On Friday, Castro and Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella announced the opening of more hospital beds and that city schools would halt classes. But health officials across the country are warning that such minor restrictions almost certainly won’t be enough.
The most powerful weapon against the coronavirus — fear — has dulled. Many people either simply don’t care or no longer believe in the dangers posed by the virus.
“We’re facing a campaign of disinformation and denial,” said Suzana Lobo, president of the Brazilian Association of Intensive Medicine. “The impact in January will be very, very large. Our fear is that in January and February, the health system won’t be able to bear it.”
In a fiercely individualistic society, where people have little trust in either government or each other, the pandemic has, from the beginning, been a mass social experiment in the limits of scientific persuasion. But now, public health officials are increasingly worried that their warnings don’t matter."