Brazil's public hospitals hit full capacity in ICU beds

The intensive care unit at Hospital do Juruá in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, has only ten beds, all of which are occupied by patients from the city and neighboring municipalities. Among those awaiting a vacancy is Maria Damisa, a critically ill woman on a ventilator, whose family has appealed for emergency transfer. The hospital regularly serves the wider Vale do Juruá region and lacks additional semi‑intensive or pediatric intensive‑care beds.

In Itajaí, Santa Catarina, the Marieta Konder Bornhausen Hospital reached 100 % occupancy of its 65 ICU beds, leaving no available spots. The facility, the largest public hospital in the state, reported that patients are being ventilated outside ICU rooms. Similar high occupancy rates were reported at nearby hospitals, with the Foz do Itajaí macro‑region at 94.1 % ICU usage. State health officials noted that some ICU slots may be blocked for complex surgeries, but the overall strain reflects a nationwide shortfall of critical‑care capacity.