Brazil sets new record of 2,841 COVID-19 deaths in past 24 hours

Brazil registered this Tuesday a record 2,841 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, confirming the worst portents of an uncontrollable pandemic, as the Minister of Health appointed by President Jair Bolsonaro begins his administration.

The South American country now adds 282,127 deaths from covid-19, a number surpassed only by the United States. And the average for the past seven days is 1,965 deaths per day, nearly triple the 703 at the start of the year, according to data from the Department of Health.

The ministry also reported 83,926 infections in the last 24 hours, the second highest figure since the start of the pandemic in February 2020, for a cumulative 11,603,535.

The new death record is more than 500 more than the previous one, 2,286, recorded on March 10.

The fierce rebound of the pandemic in Brazil could soon kill some 3,000 per day and bring the balance to 500,000 or 600,000 before the generalization of vaccines, according to experts.

Cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga, appointed Monday by Bolsonaro to take office as Minister of Health (the fourth since the start of the pandemic), called on the “union” on Tuesday to face the coronavirus.

“It’s a very big program [la del ministerio], which is going to need the union of the nation, ”Queiroga told reporters after meeting in Brasilia the outgoing minister, General Eduardo Pazuello.

He also stressed the importance of speeding up vaccination and preventive measures such as wearing masks and washing hands with alcoholic gel.

“These are simple but important measures” for “Avoid that we have to shut down a country’s economy”, he claimed.

Some advice that contrasts with the rhetoric of Bolsonaro, who has constantly despised the use of masks and questioned the effectiveness or safety of vaccines, not to mention his criticism of containment measures because of their economic impact.

Pazuello announced on Monday the purchase of 562.9 million vaccines, most of which should arrive in the second half of the year, to vaccinate this country of 212 million people.

So far, just over 10 million people have received the first dose and 3.6 million the second.

The Latin American giant, with its 210 million inhabitants, is currently undergoing a new wave of pandemic, more virulent and deadly, in part caused by the circulation of new variants of the virus, including the Brazilian from the Amazon.

Rising infections and hospitalizations put much of the country on the brink of health collapse, as in 24 of the country’s 27 states, the rate of intensive care unit (ICU) utilization exceeds 80%.

This serious situation has forced a large part of regional and municipal governments to reimpose measures to restrict mobility, such as curfews, partial lockdowns and business closures, in order to reduce the spread of the virus and avoid the collapse. imminent.

São Paulo, the most populous state in Brazil, with around 46 million inhabitants and which, since the day before, has been subject to strict mobility controls, on Tuesday broke a new daily record of deaths from covid, with 679 death in the last 24 hours. which is already close to 65,000 deaths from the virus.

With information from AFP and EFE

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