Sao Luis became Brazil's first major city to mandate a complete lockdown on Tuesday

Why is this significant? This is the capital city that hosts Vale's Pont da Madeira port- one of the most important ports for Vale in the country and the end of one of the the most significant railway lines Vale owns. How will the complete lockdown effect this critical transportation route?

Carajás Railroad: The path our wealth runs on

It is 892 km long and connects the largest open pit iron ore mine in the world, in Carajás, southeastern Pará, to the Ponta da Madeira Port, in São Luís (state of Maranhão). In all, 120 million tons of ore and 350,000 passengers travel on it each year. About 35 compositions circulate on the tracks simultaneously, including one of the world's longest train in regular operation, with 330 cars and measuring 3.3 kilometers in length.

Inaugurated in 1985, the Carajás Railroad is not only large: It also leads the ranking of the most efficient railways in Brazil thanks to our constant investments in technology. The resources range from an advanced drive system and control center to simulators and radio frequency identification

Maranhao in Brazil becomes first region to mandate a complete coronavirus lockdown

Posted 2 days ago,updated 2 days ago

Streets of Sao Luis

Sao Luis became Brazil's first major city to mandate a complete lockdown on Tuesday amid growing fears health services across the nation could soon collapse under the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic.

Key points:

• People in Sao Luis are not allowed to go outside except for groceries, medication or cleaning supplies
• The region's Governor says 95 per cent of intensive care beds in state hospitals under lockdown are occupied
• Most district governments in Brazil have imposed some sort of business restriction
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The lockdown covers Sao Luis and parts of three other municipalities in the Maranhao state, with a total population of around 1.3 million people.

People are forbidden to go outside except to obtain groceries, medication or cleaning supplies.

Maranhao — the poor, north-eastern state of which Sao Luis is the capital — has not felt the brunt of the crisis in contrast to the interior state of Amazonas, where hospitals are overwhelmed and authorities have resorted to burying victims in mass graves.

But with 4,227 confirmed cases and 249 deaths, Maranhao is still dealing with a significant caseload.

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said the coronavirus was just "a little cold", but hospitals are struggling to cope.(Reuters: Ueslei Marcelino)

In an interview with Reuters, Maranhao Governor Flavio Dino of the Brazilian Communist Party said 95 per cent of intensive care beds in state-run public hospitals are occupied.

"We're doing a preventative lockdown," Mr Dino said.

"We aren't dealing with chaos, but what we were observing is that demand was growing quickly and was above our expansion capacity for beds and health professionals."

The lockdown, which lasts until May 14, was mandated by a court, but has the support of the governor.

It comes as support for social and business restrictions has slipped in Brazil, with the economic impact of the pandemic raising concerns about hunger in poorer communities.

Brazil is by far the hardest-hit nation in Latin America, with 105,222 confirmed cases and 7,288 deaths as of Monday, according to the Health Ministry.

President Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed the virus, comparing it to "a little cold", but the reaction of Brazil's 27 state and district governments has varied widely.

Most have imposed business restrictions of some sort, in which non-essential services and commerce are forbidden.

But they have stopped short of mandating an official lockdown, which would limit people's movement.

In some areas, enforcement has been spotty, and shops have remained open despite official decrees.

While Brazilians initially supported nationwide social isolation measures by wide margins, one late April poll showed a tie between those who favour a generalised quarantine and those who favour allowing low-risk individuals to return to work.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-06/first-brazil-region-goes-into-coronavirus-lockdown/12218480


iron ore being loaded at Pont da Madeira, Maranhao