Credit: Buda Mendes / Getty Images
(CNN) -
Brazil reported 559 new deaths from causes attributed to covid-19 on Saturday, bringing the country's total deaths to 150,198, according to the National Council of Health Departments.
After the United States, Brazil is now the second country in the world to reach 150,000 deaths, attributed by critics to the country's disorderly response to the outbreak, personified in the leadership of President Jair Bolsonaro.
MIRA: Herd immunity: the curious case in Manaus, Brazil and the teaching it leaves us
The actual death toll is believed to be much higher due to low covid-19 testing capacity in some parts of Brazil.
The council also reported 26,749 new cases of the virus on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 5.08 million since the start of the pandemic.
In terms of total cases, Brazil ranks third globally, after the United States and India, according to the Johns Hopkins University case count.
coronaviruscovid-19
