Brazil now exceeds the United Kingdom in the number of coronavirus deaths. In the past 24 hours, 909 deaths have been recorded, bringing the total number of deaths to 41,828, making Brazil the second most bereaved country after the United States.
With its 212 million inhabitants, the country is still very badly hit by the pandemic. 828,810 cases are now listed. A number of contaminations which comes just behind that of the United States and which according to some experts is underestimated.
"The situation in Brazil is worrying, all states are affected," said Mike Ryan, director of health emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO). According to him, "the health system is not completely saturated, but in some regions there is a strong pressure on the occupation of intensive care beds. "
Bolsonaro calls for filming hospitals
In the country, the management of the crisis by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is increasingly criticized. The latter minimizes the pandemic from the start and advocates the resumption of economic activities. He sparked an outcry after asking residents to film hospitals on Thursday evening to check their occupancy, questioning the lack of respirators and intensive care beds denounced by caregivers.
The Rio de Paz association symbolically dug, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday, a hundred graves to pay tribute to the thousands of Brazilians who died from Covid-19 and denounce the government's "incompetence".
Brazil is not the only country affected in Latin America, while the epicenter of the epidemic is now located in this region of the world. Mexico and Chile recorded their worst daily figures for contamination. Mexico has 5,222 deaths and Chile 2,870.
