Vortex to Corona-Pay – Bolsonaro fought the statistics, instead of the virus, Brazil’s President takes back his ban to publish Corona-statistics. Now the doubts are greater than ever.Christoph Gurk from Buenos Aires0 comment to the Corona-Numbers under lock and key the President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro: to keep . Photo: Adriano Machado (Reuters)

in the end, the Numbers were even and they were not good. 1382 people died between Saturday and Sunday in connection with Covid-19, reported the Brazilian Ministry of health. More Corona men were killed in the same period, nowhere else in the world, and there has never been in the country so many Dead on a Sunday.

in Brazil, the number of cases ranked second in the world, with more than half a Million infections. But instead of dealing with the fast-spreading Virus, moved the government in Brasília, the struggle was now to all appearances just on a different field: statistics. Official data for the Corona-epidemic will not only be posted later and later. They are also increasingly incomplete, and, last of all even contradictory.

“is No longer an issue for the main news”

the official statistics long of some of the masses were reliable. Since the beginning of the epidemic in Brazil, the health Ministry announced the latest Figures of infections and deaths are always in the late afternoon. The higher the curve climbed, the faster the Minister changed, and the later the stats came from.

last week, the presentation was moved to after 22 o’clock. Too late to make it into the main news. “It doesn’t matter how many Dead there are,” said President Jair Bolsonaro. The data were in hand, no need to hurry for a TV station. “From now on, this is no longer an issue for the main news,” said the President.

physicians spoke of the attempt to conceal information.

at the same time, the Ministry of health changed at the weekend, the presentation of data to new cases and deceased. Neither the total number of the dead in connection with Covid-19 was the number of unexplained cases of suspicion or of their distribution on the States of the country named.

municipalities and Federal States may have inflated the amount of reported cases, in order to get more money, is the official justification for the step. Critics accused the government of wanting the actual extent of the Coronavirus epidemic in Brazil is obscure.

The Bolsonaro in April, fired former Minister of health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta said, the Lack of objective data was a tragedy for the health system. Rodrigo Maia, President of the Brazilian Parliament, and one of the most prominent opponents Bolsonaros, announced that the Congress will raise from now on your own data to the pandemic.

physicians spoke of the attempt to conceal information, and Gilmar Mendes, judge of the Supreme court, by a Trick of a totalitarian regime. Last lawyers did not want to even test whether Bolsonaro is in fact committing a criminal Offence.

government is rowing back

The pressure was finally so great that the government rowed back on the circuit again. You’ll be back to publish more detailed data, it was said from the Ministry of health. It will also be a new Website with information and statistics on the dissemination areas. Exactly when this will start and whether the official statistics are published again in the future earlier in the day, there was no information.

And once on Sunday evening, the official Figures for the last 24 hours have yet to be announced had been afterwards sent the Ministry an hour and a half later, once again a report. Instead of the 1382 dead, the talk was now of 525 Victims. Other counts were already on other Figures.

The damage is done, the doubts are sown.

It was, as so often in the current political landscape of Brazil: The government and its President before the dash, followed by an Outcry of indignation, at the end of Bolsonaro and his Ministers are rowing back. Most of the time it is already too late, the damage is done, the doubts are sowed: Even if the Ministry of health should publish again in the future, the detailed Figures, there are reservations in terms of their completeness and actual relevance to stay. This is all the more tragic, as experts warn already for a long time, the actual number of infections with the Coronavirus in the country for up to 15-could be so high.

Though the Figures continue to rise rapidly, have begun in some Parts of the country is already loosening. In Rio de Janeiro, Governor Wilson Witzel allowed the Opening of Restaurants and shopping malls, as long as they would comply with the hygiene regulations. At the same time, in many Brazilian cities to major demonstrations against the government and its policies in dealing with the Coronavirus.

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