Since the beginning of the partial and gradual resumption plan for in-person activities, October 18, 3.868 members of the academic community have been tested. Of these, only 10 were positive and complied with the isolation protocol. However, due to the increase in Covid-19 transmission in the state of São Paulo, the University took the decision to postpone period 4 of the resumption. This stage would begin on November 30th and, with the review, is scheduled for December 14th. Consequently, all subsequent phases are also postponed by two weeks. The recommendation continues to be that activities continue preferably remotely.
Currently, Unicamp is in period 3 of phase 2 of its plan for the partial and gradual resumption of activities. With the guidance that all those who could remain working remotely should do so, the percentage of employees who resumed in-person work is below the maximum limit and there was no resurgence in the transmission of Covid-19 on the University campuses.
Doctor Patricia Asfora Falabella Leme, coordinator of the Community Health Center (Cecom), a body that serves only the academic community at Unicamp, informs that the University's epidemiological surveillance controls the symptoms of everyone who has returned to activities in person, through a survey of symptoms performed daily in the AVISU app. The number of people who contacted Cecom reporting that they were symptomatic, from October 18th until now, was 66.
Patrícia also indicates that, since the beginning of the pandemic, Cecom has already tested 9.843 people using RT-PCR (data from November 12), of which 4.492 were symptomatic and 5.351 were asymptomatic. Mass testing is one of the pillars of Covid-19 control among the university community. However, as explained by professor José Antonio Rocha Gontijo, chief of staff at the Unicamp rectory, due to the increase in hospitalizations due to Covid-19 in the state of São Paulo, which caused the government to postpone the reclassification of flags until November 30 , the University took the decision to postpone the next resumption period by two weeks.
It is recommended that activities continue preferably remotely
The head of the rectory's office also points out that the recommendation is that activities that can remain remotely, without compromising the functioning of the University, continue as such. “All protocols are working, the units are complying with our request to only include the return of people who are necessary for academic activities to take place. It is being recommended that theoretical academic activities continue remotely and this will persist in the first half of 2021”, he indicates.
For him, it is necessary to take into account that the pandemic is not over. “The pandemic is here, we cannot minimize it. It is an extremely serious illness. No disease that kills 170 people can be trivialized”, he emphasizes. As has occurred since the arrival of Covid-19 in Brazil, Unicamp has a team that monitors the evolution of the disease daily. Any need to review the recovery plan, according to Gontijo, will be taken into account in order to preserve people's lives.
Increase in hospitalizations in São Paulo
The increase in hospitalizations in Greater São Paulo, according to the professor, was considered for postponing the next phase of recovery. Gontijo highlights that, as observed at the peak of the pandemic, there was a delay of three to four weeks in the increase in numbers in the Campinas region compared to São Paulo. “However, the City of Campinas has already noticed an increase in cases of ICU admission in the city’s private hospitals as well. This was important for us to hold a meeting and propose that we extend period 3 of the resumption as a way of taking care of the community, not increasing the number of people who would return from November 30th”, he states.
Regarding Unicamp's Hospital de Clínicas (HC), as the demand for care related to Covid-19 decreased, elective procedures that had been suspended were resumed. However, as the infectious disease specialist and coordinator of hospital care at HC, Plinio Trabasso, indicates, the Covid-19 care teams have not been demobilized and there is planning in case there is an increase in the search. In recent weeks, he indicates, there has been an increase in people seeking care with flu-like symptoms, but not all of them were positive for Covid-19.
“We have daily monitoring, at least once a day we update information on the number of patients who come to the hospital with flu-like symptoms and which may or may not be Covid-19. Our contingency plan was designed at the beginning of the pandemic and we did not reduce the mobilization of teams”, he says.
Currently, according to the infectious disease specialist, there are two wards with 14 beds allocated for patients with Covid-19, in addition to seven beds in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) available for patients with the disease. “If necessary, we already have a plan to expand to another ward, with eight more beds, and if necessary, another with nine beds. We also have a proposal to suspend elective surgeries, as indicated by the Health Secretary of the São Paulo government. These are measures that will take place if there is an increase in demand. There is planning and we know what the next steps are if necessary,” he explains.
