Brazil records deadliest day as over 600 die from coronavirus
The number of people dying in connection with the novel coronavirus in Brazil has risen above 600 for the first time, according to the Ministry of Health on Wednesday, as the virus’ rate of contagion shows no sign of slowing.
The 615 deaths were detected on Tuesday, the deadliest day since the virus outbreak began, bringing the total death toll in the country to 8,536.
Official figures show 125,218 people have been infected with the virus, though the number of undetected cases is likely to be much higher due to a shortage of tests conducted.
Meanwhile, President Jair Bolsonaro’s spokesman General Otavio Rego Barros tested positive for the virus, Barros’ office announced Wedesday.
The 59-year-old is in quarantine at home, his office said.
Barros is yet another person in the right-wing populist president’s entourage to be infected with the virus – 23 members of a presidential delegation to Florida tested positive in March.
Bolsonaro has played down concerns about the virus, does not believe in restrictions on public life and called for a return to normality.
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Data from Johns Hopkins University in the US shows Brazil has the sixth highest number of infections in the world.
Brazil became the first country in Latin America to record a novel coronavirus case on February 26.
Hospitals and cemeteries in various cities and states have now reached their limits and the system has collapsed, as infections continue to rise. (dpa)
