Omicron variant of 'concern' not 'despair': Brazilian minister downplays new COVID strain

Dismissing the concerns surrounding the new highly mutated variant of concern (VOC) B.1.1.529 named Omicron, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s health minister Marcelo Queiroga on Monday downplayed the threat, stating that the Omicron COVID-19 variant is a strain of “concern” and not “despair.” Noting that Brazil’s healthcare system is “prepared to handle” the forthcoming COVID-19 wave, Queiroga, as per the Brazilian Report, claimed that the medic community in Brazil would provide quality healthcare to the entire population. 

Queiroga also outlined the COVID-appropriate safety protocols that the Brazilian population must adhere to with respect to the Omicron variant, which originated in South Africa. He told the presser that all necessary measures would be the same as the government advised for other coronavirus strains that circulated globally. The latter also insisted that the citizens must avoid non-essential travel and must not create a panic. Brazil has recorded 22,080,906 COVID-19 related fatalities and 614,278 cases since the pandemic hit. The Bolsonaro-led government had garnered mounting criticism for his lackadaisical approach and downplaying the virus as “little flu.” 

Charges of homicide for COVID deaths against Bolsonaro withdrawn 

Brazilian senators leading an official probe into President Jair Bolsonaro's alleged ‘mishandling’ of the COVID 19 pandemic declared last month that they were withdrawing their recommendations to press charges of mass homicide and genocide against their leader. A 1,200-page draft report leaked earlier to the US-based network had revealed that the Brazilian Senate Pandemic Parliamentary Inquiry (CPI) prepared to hold Bolsonaro's policies accountable for the deaths of more than 300,000 Brazilians from the novel coronavirus. 

But the Brazilian lawmakers decided to take a U-turn on indicting Bolsonaro for downplaying the pandemic that led to mounting casualties and record hospitalizations in the Latin American nation. Demonstrators had earlier flooded the major cities across Brazil demanding the impeachment of their leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, for worsening the pandemic.