Brazil records 34,000 coronavirus deaths, the world’s third highest total behind US and UK
- Brazil reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours making its total 34,021
- The US has reported 108,211 coronavirus deaths while the UK has had 39,987
- Brazil has also confirmed 614,941 infections, the second largest in the world
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Brazil’s coronavirus death toll has skyrocketed to 34,000 making it the third-highest in the world, official figures show.
The South American country reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 34,021, behind only the United States and Britain.
The US has reported 108,211 deaths due to the deadly bug while the UK has had 39,987.
Brazil has also confirmed 614,941 infections, the health ministry said – the second-largest caseload in the world, behind the US.
Brazil’s coronavirus death toll has skyrocketed to 34,000 making it third-highest death toll in the world, official figures show
Officials wearing hazmat suits dig graves at the Sao Luiz cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil
The South American country reported a new record of 1,473 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its overall toll to 34,021, behind only the United States and Britain. Pictured: Mass graves at a cemetery in Sao Paulo
Experts estimate the real number of infections could be up to 15 times higher than official figures, given relatively little testing across the vast country.
The latest figures underlined the grim toll the virus is taking in Latin America, the latest epicenter in the pandemic.
Brazil, a country of 210 million people, has been the hardest-hit in the region.
President Jair Bolsonaro has fiercely criticized coronavirus stay-at-home measures, even as the number of infections and deaths continues to soar.
Experts estimate the real number of infections could be up to 15 times higher than official figures, given relatively little testing across the vast country. Pictured: A medic in a protective suit wheels a man wearing a mask into hospital in Rio de Janeiro
A woman wears a protective mask as she walks along the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, yesterday
People wear protective masks as they wait for a bus in Sao Paulo. Brazil is now the third-worst hit country in the world
The far-right leader has urged businesses to wage ‘war’ on state governors who order closures, arguing they are needlessly hurting Latin America’s biggest economy.
‘We lament all deaths, but it’s everyone’s destiny,’ Bolsonaro said in front of the presidential residence in Brasilia on Tuesday.
Even in states and cities where leaders had previously instituted lockdown orders, authorities rapidly loosened restrictions this week.
Cities across Sao Paulo state began reopening shopping malls and offices on Tuesday.
A newly-dug cemetery with mass graves lay empty in anticipation earlier this week as the coronavirus death toll continued to rise
But in the city of Sao Paulo itself, Mayor Bruno Covas has put back reopening non-essential businesses until after June 15.
Rio de Janeiro also began emerging from quarantine measures on Tuesday with beaches and businesses re-opening.
‘In the current situation, relaxing the measures is adding gasoline to the fire,’ Rafael Galliez, an infections expert at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro said.
The regional office of the World Health Organization warned Brazil on Tuesday against reopening ‘too quickly as there is a risk of a resurgence of COVID-19.’
The health ministry said there was ‘no way to specify when the peak of deaths will occur’ due to the country’s size and geographic diversity.