Covid-19 pandemic in the state of Piauí (Brazil): Reported cases, deaths and bed occupancy

Abstract

Introduction: This work describes the evolution over time of the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of reported cases, deaths and bed occupancy in the state of Piauí (Brazil) from 6 April 2020 to 4 January 2021. Objectives: The aim is to provide quantitative information on decision-making related to preventive measures and their effectiveness. Methodology and resources: Data were surveyed from the “Covid-19 in Piauí – Panel” to support a cross-sectional study that includes gender, age group, reported deaths, and bed occupancy as variables for built-in descriptive statistics and mobile mean estimates. Results and discussion: The data pointed to a slightly higher incidence (54.63%) in women, the highest (22.64%) being among patients in the range from 30-39 years. Recovery comprised 140,420 patients (97.48%) while confirmed deaths included 2,862 patients (1.99%), along with 774 (0.53%) sub-notifications. With respect to the latter, lethality was higher (58.56%) in men, reaching 77.67% in the case of those older than 60 years. In 2020, demands for either clinical or intensive care unit beds increased quickly during the first months of the pandemic, whereas demand for stabilization beds fluctuated intensely. Conclusion: Since a high prevalence (71.55%) was observed in economically active age groups and the highest lethality occurred among the elderly, preventive measures are still required and should be continuously adopted to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in the state of Piauí (Brazil). Keywords: Public health; Epidemiological monitoring; 2019-nCoV pandemic.