Lockdowns and curfews urged in Brazil amid concerns over spread of virus

A man stands in line for a bus on the first day of a two-week lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Brasilia (Eraldo Peres/AP)

Brazilian health officials have called for nationwide lockdowns and curfews, with hospitals running short of intensive care unit beds as Covid-19 claims more than 1,000 lives each day in the country.

“The return of the pandemic in several states is making their private and their public assistance networks collapse and has brought imminent risk of spreading it to all regions of Brazil,” said the country’s National Council of Health Secretaries in an open letter.