Stress on Brazil health system will peak in April-May

Brazil's health system will undergo 60-90 days of stress due to the coronavirus outbreak, with peaks in April and May, before the crisis wanes in September or October, the country's health minister said on Tuesday.

Brazil will need lots of additional hospital bed capacity, on top of intensive care units, Luiz Henrique Mandetta said, adding that schools could be repurposed to cope with the higher demand. He also said that Brazil is able to produce testing kits at Rio de Janeiro's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), but upgrades would be needed in other places.