popular

COVID-19 in São Paulo: A doctor on the frontline in Brazil's epicenter

COVID-19 in Sao Paulo: Dr. Alvaro Furtado's Story | Frontline in Brazil's Epicenter | GZERO World

Brazil, South America's largest economy, has largely been unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic as it spreads through the nation. Tens of thousands are sick as populist President Jair Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the disease as "fantasy." Bolsonaro accused mayors who have imposed lockdown as "falling into a state of panic," and he recently fired his widely popular health minister (the Dr. Tony Fauci of Brazil).

GZERO World spoke to Dr. Álvaro Furtado, an infectious disease specialist working in São Paulo, the epicenter of the country's outbreak, about the challenges of caring for the throngs of sick patients, the need for more supplies and hospital beds, and the reasons why Brazil is anecdotally seeing only a 50-60% compliance rate on "stay at home" policies.

Hear Dr. Furtado's story from the frontline in São Paulo, watch the GZERO World episode on how to end the coronavirus pandemic with Dr. Larry Brilliant, and listen to Ian Bremmer's extended interview with Dr. Brilliant on the GZERO World Podcast.

More For You

- YouTube

At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke with Ariel Ekblaw, Founder of the Aurelia Institute, about how scaling up infrastructure in space could unlock transformative breakthroughs on Earth.

Haitian soldiers keep a watch outside the venue where businessman Laurent Saint-Cyr is set to be designated as president of Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, August 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Fildor Pq Egeder/File Photo

On Friday, US officials warned the transitional council in charge of Haiti not to remove interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, ahead of a deadline for the council to step down on Feb. 7.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu speaks during a Council of Europe diplomatic conference to launch the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, aimed at handling compensation claims related to Russia's war in Ukraine, in The Hague, Netherlands, December 16, 2025.
REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

The president of the tiny eastern European country has suggested possibly merging with a neighbor.