Molecular testing and analysis of disease spreading during the emergence of COVID-19 in Macaé, the Brazilian National Capital of Oil
Natália Martins Feitosa, Bruno da Costa Rodrigues, Ana Cristina Petry, Keity Jaqueline Chagas Vilela Nocchi, Rodrigo Brindeiro, Carla Zilberberg, Cíntia Monteiro de Barros, Flávia Borges Mury, Jackson Souza‐Menezes, José Luciano Nepomuceno‐Silva, Manuela Leal da Silva, Márcio José de Medeiros, Raquel de Souza Gestinari, Alessandra da Silva de Alvarenga, Allan Pierre Bonetti Pozzobon, Carina Azevedo Oliveira Silva, Daniele das Graças dos Santos, Diego Henrique Silvestre, Graziele Fonseca de Sousa, Janimayri Forastieri de Almeida, Jhenifer Nascimento da Silva, Layza Mendes Brandão, Leandro de Oliveira Drummond, Lupis Ribeiro Gomes Neto, Raphael de Mello Carpes, Renata Coutinho dos Santos, Taynan Motta Portal, Amílcar Tanuri, Rodrigo Nunes-da-Fonseca
Abstract
The Brazilian strategy to overcome the spread of COVID-19 has been particularly criticized due to the lack of a national coordinating effort and an appropriate testing program. Here, a successful approach to control the spread of COVID-19 transmission is described by the engagement of public (university and governance) and private sectors (hospitals and oil companies) in Macaé, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a city known as the National Oil Capital. In 2020 between the 17th and 38th epidemiological week, over two percent of the 206,728 citizens were subjected to symptom analysis and RT-qPCR testing by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with positive individuals being notified up to 48 h after swab collection. Geocodification and spatial cluster analysis were used to limit COVID-19 spreading in Macaé. Within the first semester after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Brazil, Macaé recorded 1.8% of fatalities associated with COVID-19 up to the 38th epidemiological week, which was at least five times lower than the state capital (10.6%). Overall, considering the successful experience of this joint effort of private and public engagement in Macaé, our data suggest that the development of a similar strategy countrywise could have contributed to a better control of the COVID-19 spread in Brazil. Quarantine decree by the local administration, comprehensive molecular testing coupled to scientific analysis of COVID-19 spreading, prevented the catastrophic consequences of the pandemic as seen in other populous cities within the state of Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere in Brazil.