Brazil has a new record for Covid-19 tests in pharmacies, says Abrafarma

The number of Covid-19 tests carried out in the country’s pharmacies hit a new record. There were 86,300 tests carried out on the 12th and 86,100 on January 13th. The data are from a new partial estimate of the Brazilian Association of Pharmacy and Drugstore Chains (Abrafarma), which will be released this week.

The daily records of tests performed had been recorded on the 10th and 11th of this month, when Abrafarma recorded 75,000 diagnoses on each of these days.

The daily positivity rate in relation to the tests carried out also broke records. On day 12, it was 38.7% (33,400 positive tests) and, on day 13, 39.25% (33,800).

The previous record of positive cases for Covid-19 during testing, according to Abrafarma, took place on the 11th of this month, when the rate was 36.56%, with 29,600 positive diagnoses.

Taking into account the partial balance between January 10th and 13th, 328,800 tests were carried out, of which 122,600 were positive, an average daily rate of 37.2%. These numbers will be used in Abrafarma’s balance sheet, whose panel is updated weekly.

The weekly average is calculated from Monday to Sunday and published on the association’s official website on Wednesdays. The next balance sheet, already with the new record, will be published on the 19th of this month.

In the last panel, released on the 12th, equivalent to the 3rd to 9th of January, Abrafarma recorded that 482,126 people were tested for the disease in pharmacies, an increase of 70% compared to the previous week. Of this total, 145,673 had a positive diagnosis for Covid-19, and an average of 30.21%.

For Sérgio Barreto, CEO of Abrafarma, the numbers show that the pandemic is at its peak of cases, which is reflected in the high rate of positive cases and in the great search for Covid-19 exams. However, according to him, despite the occasional lack of test stock in some networks, there is no general shortage of these inputs in the country.

See images of the vaccination of children against Covid-19 in Brazil