BRASÍLIA – Brazil set a new daily Covid-19 death toll record of 3,650 yesterday, said the Health Ministry, as the pandemic spins out of control in Latin America’s largest economy.
Since February, Brazil has seen record after record in fatalities and new infections as the country that is the second-hardest-hit in the world after the United States, with more than 307,000 dead from the disease.
It broke through the threshold of 3,000 daily fatalities on Tuesday.
The average daily toll over the past week is 2,400 – more than triple what it was in early January.
The figure has risen steadily due to factors including people abandoning social-distancing norms, and a new virus variant that emerged here and is believed to be more contagious than the original strain.
Another big problem is that the country’s vaccination drive is moving slowly. So far, only 5.9% of the population of 212 million has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
President Jair Bolsonaro announced this week that he is launching a crisis committee to deal with the pandemic, a change of course amid mounting pressure over a situation he has repeatedly minimised.
The announcement appeared to do little to tame criticism of the far-right leader, who has flouted expert advice on lockdowns and mask-wearing, pushed a drug regimen that scientists have said does not work, and spoken out against vaccines. – AFP, March 27, 2021
