Socioeconomic vulnerability in the face of COVID-19 in municipalities of Ceará

Abstract The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused serious socioeconomic impacts, exposing the vulnerability of Brazilian states and municipalities. In a broad sense, vulnerability is related to social and economic susceptibility to potential risks or losses caused by extreme events. In this context, this article identifies the municipalities’ socioeconomic vulnerability in the State of Ceará, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Northeast of Brazil. This exploratory-quantitative study adopted secondary data from government databases of public access. The socioeconomic vulnerability of the municipalities was assessed dynamically, based on a mathematical model to forecast the number of cases of COVID-19 applied to the city of Wuhan, China. The vulnerability indicators were calculated under two trajectories: production value and the number of employed persons, considering municipal characteristics such as demographic density, local mobility, and human development index. In the case of the state of Ceará, the findings show a series of demographic, social and economic determinants that aggravate the impacts of the crisis. The vulnerability indicators constructed in this research can be used as a basis for decisions by municipal and state governments in the chronology of economic openings by sectors, municipalities, and regions.