(CNN) - Brazil surpassed 100,000 deaths from coronavirus on Saturday and cases in the country are already more than 3 million, according to the most recent figures from the country's Ministry of Health.
The Ministry reported that 100,477 people have lost their lives due to causes attributed to the coronavirus and 3,012,412 have been infected. In the last 24 hours, 905 people died from the virus.
The day was marked by demonstrations of solidarity with the families of the victims and criticism of the federal government. Many Twitter users tagged their posts with the hashtag # 100thousanddeaths. In Rio de Janeiro, the NGO Rio de Paz put a hundred crosses in the sand and displayed a sign that asked: "Why are we second in number of deaths?"
View of a wall with a graffiti that reads "100,000 dead" on August 8, 2020 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Credit: Alexandre Schneider / Getty Images
Last Thursday, on a Facebook live, President Jair Bolsonaro commented on the death toll. “The number (of deaths from Covid-19) is reaching one hundred thousand. We are going to move on with life and find a way to get out of this problem, "he said.
Since the outbreak began, Bolsonaro has downplayed the illness, calling it "just a bit of the flu" and promoting the use of the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment.
- MIRA: Superior Court of Brazil supports special protection for indigenous communities, but will not establish a schedule for the departure of outsiders
Almost 25% of the deaths in Brazil are in the state of São Paulo, which this Saturday surpassed the threshold of 25,000 deaths. In total, the State Health Secretariat has registered 25,016 deaths and 621,731 cases of the disease.
A protester from the NGO 'Rio de Paz' ties a Brazilian flag to a cross on Copacabana beach on August 8, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Credit: Alessandra del Bene / Getty Images
However, the state continues with its reopening plan and from Thursday they can open bars and restaurants during the night in the São Paulo capital. Before, they could be open until 5 in the afternoon. However, Governor João Dória decided to postpone face-to-face classes for students, pointing out that "any slip can be fatal."
After seeing their health systems collapse in April, the northern states register a decrease in the number of deaths, while the presence of the virus grows in the south and midwest of the country, after registering fewer cases at the beginning of the pandemic.
coronaviruscovid-19