Detection of SARS-CoV-2 lineage P.1 in patients from a region with exponentially increasing hospitalisation rate, February 2021, Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 P.1 lineage coincided with a surge in hospitalisations in the North region of Brazil. In the South region's Rio Grande do Sul state, severe COVID-19 case numbers rose 3.8 fold in February 2021. During that month, at a COVID-19 referral hospital in this state, whole-genome sequencing of a subset of cases' specimens (n = 27) revealed P.1 lineage SARS-CoV-2 in most (n = 24). Findings raise concerns regarding a possible association between lineage P.1 and rapid case and hospitalisation increases.

Automated summary

A study in Brazil found that the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 P.1 lineage coincided with a surge in hospitalisations. Severe COVID-19 cases in the South region rose significantly in February 2021, raising concerns about a possible association between the P.1 lineage and rapid increases in cases.