News from Brasilia 04/29/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia
1230 confirmed cases (it represents an increase of 41 new cases in 24h) , 28 deaths.
source: DF Health Secretary. You can read a daily full epidemiological report (in Portuguese) of the Covid-19 in Brasilia clicking here

Use of mask will be compulsory in Brasilia starting tomorrow, April 30th


*update!!! (May1st). 
The compulsory use of masks, with fee penalty for who disobey, was postponed for May 11th.

Do you have your masks ready? Compulsory use in Brasilia starting tomorrow.
This masked boy is my son Davi : )

Do you have your masks at home? Health authorities have been asking that we buy or sew at home cloth masks in order to leave the cirurgical masks to the health professionals.

As I told you, I am living in Poland and I have bought from a local sewer excellent cloth masks. I even did a second order to have some extra masks at home and also to give to friends (face masks as a gift! OMG, this is crazy. But this is what it is, right?)

I just read at THE GUIDE- Brasilia that they are selling masks with 3 layers of protection. You can see the models and order in English. Click here


Mass testing in Brasilia
source: website of the local Government 

In the first week of mass testing in Brasilia, over 5,000 quick tests (with results in 30 minutes) were made and 16 people were tested positive. There are some points of drive thru testing. You have to schedule the test  at www.teste.df.gov.br. This quick test is designated only for people who has the Covid-19 symptoms for at least a week. 

Drive thru Covid-19 testing in Brasilia. photo: Agência Brasília April 28th, 2020.

If you are eligible to be tested, you will be tested in the test point of the region you live (see bellow) after you get a confirmation by email:

Águas Claras or Taguatinga:
Uniplan
Unieuro
Residência Oficial do Governador 

Asas Sul e Norte, Sudoeste, Noroeste, Cruzeiro/Octogonal:
Parque da Cidade – Estacionamento 4 

Estádio Mané Garrincha

Lago Sul (South Lake), Paranoá, Jardim Botânico:
Paróquia São Pedro de Alcântara – St. de Habitações Individuais Sul EQI 7/9 – Lago Sul

Lago Norte (North Lake)
Iguatemi Shopping

Guará, Núcleo Bandeirante, Candangolândia and Park Sul:
ParkShopping

News from Brasilia 04/27/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia
1253 confirmed cases, 27 deaths

Mass testing in some regions of Brasilia
If you have symptoms of cold for at least 7 days, you can schedule a drive thru Covid-19 test for free. Click here 

photo: Metropoles April 26th, 2020.

Flower monuments of Brasilia
To celebrate Brasilia 60th anniversary, the artists Higor Lima and Rogério Salustiano made plants and flowers projects representing important monuments of Brasilia. You can see the exhibition until April 30th at Ceasa.

photo: Agência Brasília April 26th, 2020

News from Brasilia 04/26/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia 
1181 confirmed cases, 27 deaths.
Full report released by the Health Secretary you can read (in Portuguese) here

Mass Coronavirus testing in Brasilia - drive thru
Mass testing started at Plano Piloto and Aguas Claras last week. Now there are more places where people can be tested by drive thru system. To avoid long car lines, now it is required to do a sign in (quick registration) before going to the places of the test. You will get by email a confirmation of the appointment for the testing with place and time. It is important to remind that this test is for people who have symptoms only. If you want to schedule a test, click here

Mass testing in Brasilia. Covid- 19 . photo: Jornal de Brasilia. April 26th, 2020

Date of the reopening of the schools is still uncertain 
Ibaneis Rocha, Governor of DF, said today he still doesn't know when the schools will reopen to the students. After Ibaneis met president Bolsonaro last week, it was rumoured that the civic-military schools could reopen earlier than the other public schools. Many parents who have their kids in these schools were worried about that. But now there is no date defined to reopening of any school in DF, public or private.

News from Brasilia 04/24/2020

I know this blog is supposed to bring you local news. I am updating the coronavirus numbers in Brasilia and so. But today Brazil is in shock. The most popular Minister of the Federal Government, Sergio Moro, resigned his job as Minister of Justice and National Security.
Moro alleges he was not consulted by the president about the change in the PF (Federal Police) Head of command and he can't agree the PF work without full autonomy to conduct its investigations.

Sergio Moro is an icon in Brazil. He was the judge who helped bring to light the monstrous corruption scheme in Brazil. Many politicians went to jail, including the former president Lula.
Sergio Moro was considered one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine. President Bolsonaro's team just lost its most shining star. Moro had to resign his career as a judge when he accepted the invitation of President Bolsonaro to be in his Government. Now Moro says he will get some rest and then look for a job. I am pretty sure there will be many door opened for him and my wish is that he continues his fight against corruption. Thank you, Moro, for all you have done to Brazil!

Photo: Time Magazine. The 100 Most Influential People

Now back to Brasilia....

Coronavirus in DF
1106 confirmed cases, 30 people in intensive care units.

From April 30th on, wearing face masks will be compulsory in Brasilia. Please get prepared.

News from Brasília 04/22/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia
960 confirmed cases, 25 deaths due to Covid-19.

30 millions reais to fund research and studies about the new coronavirus
The Governor of DF, Ibaneis Rocha, signed today a partnership with the University of Brasilia (UNB) to fund studies and research about coronavirus, including tests to detect the virus.

Elderly people in a hotel in Brasilia
Elderly people who don't have conditions to do an ideal self isolation are being accommodated at Brasilia Palace Hotel, as part of the project "Sua vida vale muito- Hotelaria solidária". The goal is to assist 300 elderly people. 

Brasília - 60 years!

Virtual tour

The DF Tourism Secretary is promoting a virtual tour of the main attractions of Brasilia. You can take a look in its architecture, buildings, churches and much more. Click here to discover more of Brasília: http://www.turismo.df.gov.br/brasilia-tour-virtual/

To celebrate Brasilia, musicians (in quarantaine) from the EMB -Escola de Música de Brasilia play this unforgettable  music, chorus,  of Pixinguinha. Enjoy "Carinhoso"

And from so far away I also celebrated Brazil's capital. Today I got dressed with my Ipê (typical and beautiful tree) t-shirt and my reusable Brasilia theme shopping bag

News from Brasilia 04/20/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia
861 confirmed cases, 24 deaths.
Official epidemiological report about coronavirus in Federal District you can read (in Portuguese) here

Mass test in Brasilia
Mass test will start tomorrow, from 8am to 5pm in some places of  Plano Piloto and Aguas Claras.  These two regions were chosen first because Plano Piloto and Aguas Claras have more detected cases of coronavirus in DF. To avoid agglomeration, people will be tested in the car. But only who has symptoms of cold for at least 7 days will be tested now.
Drive thru coronavirus test:

Unieuro Águas Claras

Uniplan Águas Claras

Residência Oficial 

Mané Garrincha

Parque da Cidade

You can read more here

Brasilia- 60 years
Tomorrow we celebrate Brasília's anniversary. Every year there are many events in this date. This year, because of coronavirus, the celebration will be online.


Mass at 10am

You can watch directly from the Brasilia Archidiosece Facebook or Canção Nova social media @cancaonovabrasilia. To read more, click here

Photo: Arquidiocese de Brasilia

Ballet at 3pm

photo: agenciabrasilia.df.gov.br 04/20/2020

At 3pm, there will be a live ballet performance. You can watch it in the DF Tourism Secretary social media:

Facebook: /seturdf

Instagram: @seturdf

Did you watch Roberto Carlos live stream yesterday?

Roberto Carlos is a Brazilian icon. He is one of the most beloved artists not only in Brazil, but also in other countries of Latin America. Although almost all the grandmothers in Brazil love him deeply, he has younger fans as well (me included). 

News from Brasilia 04/18/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia
764 confirmed cases, 24 deaths.
Full report (in Portuguese) from the Health Secretary you can see here.


Do you want to help families in need?

There are a lot of initiatives to help people who are in vulnerable situation. Millions of people all over Brazil registered themselves to get an emergency help of R$600,00 from the Federal Government. However, many families haven't received the benefit yet and they are in need.
Today you can read at  Correio Braziliense, local newspaper,  an initiative called CESTA do BEM. To donate online a full basket (cesta básica) of food or a basket of fruits and vegetables, you can click here.

News from Brasilia 04/17/2020

Coronavirus
727 confirmed cases, 20 deaths.
DF Health Secretary posts a daily epidemiological bulletin with the coronavirus situation in Brasilia. It is possible to see number of infected organized by age group, neighborhood, graphics etc. The report of April 16th you can access here.

Minister of Health fired
Luiz Henrique Mandetta was fired yesterday by president Bolsonaro. In the last weeks, their divergence was very clear. President Bolsonaro insists in vertical isolation and he is an enthusiast of the medication chloroquine. Mandetta, who is a doctor, defends the horizontal isolation and doesn't recommend so far the broad use of a medication that hasn't been largely tested and it is not a consensus in the scientific community.
The new nominated Brazilian Health Minister, Nelson Teich, is an oncologist and in his first speech he said no measure will be abruptly changed. It is expected that Mandetta helps in the transition.

photo: gov.br/planalto. Sworn in ceremony of the new Minister of Health 

Firefighters band will make a performance today, at 6pm (Brasilia time) in Aguas Claras. 
As part of the project "Música em casa, comida no prato" (Music at home, food in the plate), the band plans others performances. The initiative aims to bring some joy and also stimulate donations of food.
So if you live near Central Park, open your window at 6pm and enjoy. You can read more (in Portuguese) here

Today, at 6pm, Aguas Claras. photo: correioweb 17/04/2020

                                                                                                                   Erika Berbert

News from Brasilia 04/16/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia
696 confirmed cases and 17 deaths

Good news 
A patient had hospital discharge after almost a month in intensive unit care at Home Hospital.

President Bolsonaro will be obliged to show the results of his exams for coronavirus,
This was a request of the Chamber of Representatives (Câmara dos Deputados) and the president has 30 days to show them. After a trip to USA, where he and the presidential comitive met with president Trump, over 20 people, including the Brazilian secretary of press, tested positive for coronavirus.

Bolsonaro said he tested negative twice, but he never showed the results. Besides not showing the first and the second exams, he keeps disobeying social distance international recommendations.  On March 15th, 2020, there was a march of support to his Government in many cities in Brazil. Although the president said days before (in his weekly live in social media) he does not recommended the march in face of the coronavirus pandemics, he went downstairs of the presidential palace that day to greet his supporters and take pictures with them. And in the following days, he continued this attitude in at least 2 situations, when he went to a bakery and when he was visiting a campaign hospital.
There is a strong rumor that the minister of Health, Mandetta, will be fired. Mandetta has gained a lot of support from the Brazilians, from the media and even artists in their lives compliment Mandetta for his work in this difficult moment of coronavirus pandemics. However, he and the president disagree about the form of isolation. Bolsonaro defends vertical isolation to affect less the economy. Bolsonaro also openly defends the use of chloroquine, while Mandetta still has some criticism to broad use of the medication.

News from Brasilia 04/14/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia
651 confirmed cases and 17 deaths.

One good news is that a Brazilian combatent in the World War II, Ermando Armelino Piveta, after 8 days hospitalized because of Covid-19 at HFA (Hospital das Forças Armadas. Brazilian Army Hospital), is recovering well.

photo: correioweb.com.br April 14th, 2020

New law to help protect women, elderly and children against violence in their houses

Ibaneis Rocha, governor of DF, signed today a law that obliges residencial condos to notify any case of violence to police. It means that if an residential building administrator or manager, known as "síndico", do not make this notification, the condo may have to pay a fine (from R$500,00 to R$10,000)

Have you ever eaten "carne de sol", sun dried meat?
We Brazilian love this dish. And one very tradional/popular restaurant in Brasilia is Xique-Xique, at 108 Sul. I myself loved to go to Xique Xique and order a "carne de sol completa" to  go (it means sun dried meat and sides: beans, rice, yuka..). So yummy.
Well, now Parrila Burguer is offering a limited edition of hamburguer made with carne de sol for R$29,00. Avaiable at ifood or to pick up at the store, 408 Sul.

photo: www.metropoles.com.br April14th, 2020

News from Brasilia 04/13/2020

Coronavirus in Brasilia
638 confirmed cases and 15 deaths.

Papuda has 43 people infected, 23 are prisoners.
Papuda is the main prison of DF.

Furniture and appliance stores open.
Local Government flexibilized a little the quarantaine and allowed some non essential retail stores to open, such as furniture stores and appliance stores. Malls remain closed.

TODAY!! At 8pm (Brasilia time)
Auction of many items related to  Brasilia. Books, art pieces and more and prices starting at only R$20. The auction is an initiative of the collector Manuel Lauand to celebrate Brasília's 60th anniversary.   To access this and others Brazilian online auction, click here

photo: correioweb April 13th, 2020

Happy Easter

Today I will make a break of the coronavirus news. Yes, unfortunately numbers are rising in Brasilia and Brazil.


But today is Easter, it's a day of joy and hope. Some artists are doing lives to reinforce the message #stayathome and also raise money to help in the fight against coronavirus. These lives have been seen for thousands, millions of people. In Brazil, very popular ones were the live shows of Jorge e Mateus and Marília Mendonça. These artists are "sertanejos". The have millions of fans, but also many people in Brazil like to say they would never hear these songs.

And today was the Andrea Bocelli live show. It was so beautiful and touching. Music for hope! #andratuttobe

                                                           HAPPY EASTER!

News from Brasilia 04/11/2020

Coronavirus
555 confirmed cases and 14 obits. Brazil has almost 20.000 cases and over a 1,000 due to Covid-19.

President Bolsonaro went to a drugstore and a bakery yesterday. Many people went to talk to him and there are images of him shaking hands of some supporters who were there. As usual, he was hardly criticized for this attitude of disobeying isolation and social distance. His Health Minister, Mandetta, has a lot of support from the population. Mandetta's advice for the population (be at home) is in conflict with what the president does and say. So the permanence of Mandetta in team is been questioned. There was a rumor he would be fired by the president and many public people (including politics, artists) showed their support for Mandetta.

Governor Ibaneis traveled for the Easter holiday
Ibaneis was also criticized for traveling during this pandemy. The Governor of DF is known for being very rich.

News from Brasilia 04/10/2020

Coronavirus in DF
563 confirmed cases, 13 deaths.

From tomorrow (Saturday) on, there will be quick tests for coronavirus available. DF Government announced they bought 150,000 quick tests for coronavirus detection.

Churches empty, but benches full of parishioners' pictures

Dom Bosco, at South Aisle. Picture: metropoles.com.br April 10th 

If you attend Mass in Brasilia, you can check if it is being transmitted online. Brasilia's archdiocese website is this.

Academies closed, but with some creative solutions to keep the business alive

The owner of Sypin cycle is renting bikes and she is sheduling classes on line with the registered clients.
Another academy, one of the best in Brasilia, UNIQUE is offering lives for free, UNQ HOME WORKOUT, in its social media. @academiaunique.

News from Brasilia 04/08/2020

Coronavirus
503 confirmed cases, 12 deaths in Federal District. Brazil has 13.717 cases and 667 deaths due to coronavirus.

DF Health Secretary says the growth of infected by coronavirus is, fortunately, below it was projected for Brasilia. It is attributed to the social isolation and measures to restrain circulation of people in the streets, as the temporary closure of schools and shops.
Anyway, DF Health Secretary is preparing the public hospitals, as described in the post of yesterday. For example, HRAN (North Aisle Hospital) will be exclusively destined for treating patients with coronavirus. An exception is for the patients with burn injuries. As HRAN is the reference hospital in this matter, it will continue accepting patients who have burn injuries.

First lady of DF nominated to work in local Government

Ibaneis Rocha, Governor of DF, nominated yesterday his wife, Mayara Noronha, lawyer, as Social Development Secretary. Ibaneis declared that his wife, just like he does, will donate her salary.

News from Brasilia 04/07/2020

Coronavirus

In Federal District, 485 confirmed cases, 10 deaths. One of the victims was a nurse of 37 years old.

37 patients are in intensive care.

HRAN will now accept only patient with coronavirus 

Hran (Hospital regional da Asa Norte), the big public hospital of North aisle has a new designation and it will treat only patients with coronavirus. Since March 22th, patients were being transferred to other hospitals. Except from coronavirus, only people with burn injuries will be accepted in HRAN. HRAN is the reference hospital to burn injuries in Federal District. An entire floor of the hospital is exclusive to treat patients with burn injuries.

These 3 numbers can be used to ask questions regarding COVID if you suspect you can be contaminated. I just don't know if English speaking attendants are available. 

In case you have doubt:

Scenario 1. You have Covid-19 symptoms, but you haven't traveled lately and you haven't had  contact with people who was abroad or people who are sick with coronavirus. Go to a UBS (Unidade Básica de Saúde). In Brasilia is know as "posto de saúde", neighborhood health center. To locate the one that is closer to your house click here. Many of these UBS have extended their opening hours. You can double check if the one located closer to your house is open by clicking here. 

*If you need obstetric assistance, you can go to HUB (Hospital Universitário de Brasília, located in the beginning of North Aisle) or to HMIB (Hospital Materno-Infantil, located at South aisle).

  

News from Brasilia 04/04/2020

Coronavirus 
441 confirmed cases, 7 people already died. The last one was a man who was at the hospital Santa Lucia, Asa Norte.

Discount in private school's fees 
Schools will be closed until May 31th, as says a decree of Ibaneis Rocha, Federal District's Governor. A local Congressman, Rafael Prudente, is proposing a law's project to oblige the private schools to give 30% discount while schools are not operating normally because of the restrictions imposed by the decree.

Some private schools have already moved in this direction and have already annonuced they will give discounts. However, some parents are complaining that distance learning lack in quality and for younger children, such the ones in daycare or preschool, learning and activities through a screen is not an option.

Governor Ibaneis says he plans to estabilish a group to mediate the discussions since he believes in less interference in the private sector and that each case is different so it's not simple to come up with a single solution for different problems.

Free coffee for health professionals

Fran's cafe, 209 Norte, is offering expressos for free for those who work in hospital, as a way to express gratitute for their service in this difficult time.

Woman arrested in Taguatinga for selling fake hand sanitizer
The 41y woman will be charged for crime against public health and if found guilty she can take 10-15 years of improsionment.
It is always good to remind that better than hand sanitizer is to wash our hands thoroughly and many times a day.

News from Brasilia 04/02/2020

*Coronavirus in Brasilia

 377 confirmed cases and 4 deaths due to coronavirus in Federal District. Brazil has 7910 cases and 299 deaths.

* New restrictions

Ibaneis, Federal District's governor, extended the restrictions until May 3rd. It means that malls, cinemas, museums, restaurants, food courts and non essential shops will remain closed until May 3rd. Ibaneis, however, flexibilized the openings of open markets (such as Feira do Guará - a very good place to buy fish, fruits and vegetables), but only for food for humans and animals.

* Schools and colleges closed until May 31st. Distance learning (by internet and TV) is planned to start soon for the students in the public system. High school students will access the content first hand.

* Private schools against mandatory discount. There is a law project of deputado (local Congressman) Rafael Prudente that would oblige private schools to give 30% discount in the fees. This project was not approved yet and the sindicate that represents the private schools says this discount would be a disaster for the sector because many of the schools are small ones and the staff salary represents 70% of theirs expenses.