The The geohistorical and epidemiological materiality of COVID-19: reflections and analyzes in the context of the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte

THE GEOHISTORICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MATERIALITY OF COVID-19: REFLECTIONS AND ANALYZES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE METROPOLITAN REGION OF BELO HORIZONTE

Abstract

The beginning of 2020 was marked by the emergence of COVID-19 in China, with its spreading around the world, which lead the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic. The disease, caused by the coronavirus, reached several countries like Italy, Spain and the USA. These countries had their health systems overloaded and collapsed in a few days due to the delay in actions to control the spread of contamination. In Brazil, it is estimated that the disease arrived in late February, spreading to the states in a short time. In this process, several actions regarding policies to combat COVID-19 were observed by different government entities. This meant differentiated approaches, instigating the analysis of the context of the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte (RMBH), as its integrating towns adopted divergent measures. While strong social isolation measures were determined in Belo Horizonte, in surrounding areas, including neighboring ones, there was a loosening of such measures on April 23, 2020. The analysis of the number of contaminated and dead people published by the Minas Gerais State Health Department allowed some inferences about the current situation of COVID-19 in the RMBH, making it possible to make some comparisons of the pandemic between Belo Horizonte and the rest of the state of Minas Gerais and, also, between Brazil and the rest of the world.