Fiocruz International News – August 2020

The Foundation inaugurated two Support Units to the Diagnostic of Covid-19 to help Brazil expand its testing capacity. Built based on similar plants and in an emergency setting, the new installations in Rio de Janeiro and Ceará occupy an area of approximately 2,300 square meters each. Equipped with platforms that use real-time PCR, the units have the potential to work 24/7. The unit of Rio has the capacity of processing up to p to 15,000 molecular tests per day and the unit of Ceará 10,000 tests.

A pilot project in some favelas in Rio de Janeiro makes possible full healthcare in these territories, with services ranging from orientation and support to local population, telemedicine, molecular tests, contact tracing, and production of risk maps within the communities. According to the specialists involved, these actions, implemented in a structured way, constitute an active surveillance proposal that might be considered a model to fight the pandemic in favelas and popular territories.

Researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation develop a plan to support the fight against Covid-19 among indigenous peoples. One of the goals is to intensify surveillance and improve information about the impacts of the pandemic on these populations. The actions integrate researchers in support of diagnosis, health care, research, education, emergency support and communication.