On the 22nd, the mayor of Rio Grande da Serra Penha Fumagalli (PSD) declared a public health emergency in the city due to the dengue epidemic. The city was the only one associated with the Grande ABC Intermunicipal Consortium that had not yet formalized this decision. Santo André, Mauá, Diadema and Ribeirão Pires issued their decrees on March 22nd.
The Rio Grande do Sul administration justifies the measure based on the number of confirmed dengue cases. Until yesterday, the municipality had 473 notifications, 75 of which were positive and 53 were still under investigation.
The state of emergency allows City Hall to obtain additional resources from the federal government, as well as exemption from bidding to acquire inputs and materials to face the crisis.
Decree No. 3118 of April 19, 2024, provides, among other points, for the hiring of civil servants to combat dengue fever, the hiring of services and the extension of contracts that favor tackling the cause. Furthermore, the measure recommends the suspension of vacations and days off for community health agents and environmental, epidemiological and health surveillance agents, in addition to employees of the municipality’s health units.
In a note to DailyMayor Penha Fumagalli says that “it is essential to act quickly and determinedly to combat the proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito and contain the spread of dengue, which includes requesting the state government to release beds in the two state hospitals in the region, as well as resources to strengthen the urgency and emergency network managed by the municipality”.
The president also reinforced the need for joint actions to tackle the epidemic. “The union of municipalities in this effort is essential to protect the health and well-being of the population. Collaboration between federal entities is the way to guarantee access for all citizens to the necessary services.”
‘It’s going to empty the cash register, it’s going to loot Rio Grande’, criticizes the opposition
The public health emergency decree in Rio Grande da Serra caused outrage among opposition councilors. Marcelo Akira, Akira do Povo (Podemos), raised suspicions about the initiative. “It is a shameful decree. This is hypocrisy. The City Hall did not take any preventive action. It’s going to empty the cash register, it’s going to loot Rio Grande,” he said.
Another person who spoke out was councilor Elias Policial (Podemos) who classified the decree as a “masked bull party”. Councilor Roberto Contador (Avante) suggested that the Legislature set up a Spending Controller to monitor the acts of the decree. “This is worrying, as the exemption from bidding reduces transparency,” he commented.
The municipal secretary of Health, Luiz Fernando Pinotti came out in defense of the administration. “There is no data manipulation, underreporting and no intentions behind this decree. Working and reporting the truth is our role”, he said.
