For every reported coronavirus patient, there are 15 untraced cases, reports the president of Einstein Hospital.

247 - The peak of the coronavirus epidemic in Brazil is expected to occur in early April, according to the President of the Albert Einstein Hospital, surgeon Sidney Klajner, in an interview with the newspaper. State St. PaulAccording to him, "it is very important that people become aware of the importance of staying home" to slow the spread of the virus.

He believes that Einstein Hospital is prepared to face the disease. The hospital has 600 beds that can be used for treatment, 100 of which are ICU beds. The hospital jumped from 12 suspected cases two days ago, with four confirmed cases of COVID-19, to 45 hospitalizations, 21 confirmed today, with seven patients in the ICU, he states.

According to Klajner, the situation is likely to worsen with a significant increase in cases in two weeks. He also states that the "underreporting of cases" is a major problem in the country. The doctor claims that for every reported case of the disease today, there are another 15 infected individuals without a diagnosis, "due to the fact that many cases are asymptomatic, as can occur with children, for example."

A COVID-19 diagnosis takes about three hours and costs around R$150. "However, due to the sudden increase in the volume of cases, testing depends on a doctor's referral," warned Klajner. "In recent days, we've conducted up to 2 tests. But we've restricted testing to patients with a doctor's referral," he explained. There are delays in confirming diagnoses due to the large number of people in line.