COVID-19 RESPONSE MEASURES IN BRAZILIAN STATES:

LEGISLATIVE AND JOURNALISTIC APPROACH

Resumo

State governors had to take restrictive measures to prevent Covid-19 from advancing with the arrival of the disease in Brazil. According to the Constitution, states and municipalities can define more restrictive laws to those instituted at the Federal level. Thus, the present objective is to analyze the measures adopted by each Brazilian state to combat the new coronavirus. As a methodology, the state laws in force and the strategies implemented during the evolution of the disease were identified through journalistic articles. As main results, the dismissal of employees belonging to the risk group and the suspension of classes, events, and non-essential commerce, are measures adopted by all regions of the country. However, in May, the easing of these measures was identified, causing a setback in terms of preventing new contamination. It is understood that the main reason for easing is related to the pressures suffered in the economy. It is concluded that social isolation is still the most effective strategy identified in different countries, and that the easing of restrictive measures may result in the collapse of the health system. Consequently, the easing may worsen the situation of the economy, in view of the rapid increase in cases of Covid-19 in Brazil, which already exceeds 500 thousand cases.