Brazil’s coronavirus deaths break records with 1,179 in a single day as infections now third

 人参与 | 时间：2024-04-29 22:52:09
STILL GETTING WORSE

Brazil’s coronavirus deaths break records with 1,179 in a single day as infections now third-worst in world

BRAZIL has recorded its highest ever daily death toll from coronavirus and now has the third-worst outbreak in the world.

On Tuesday, the country saw 1,179 people die from the virus, and is now third only to the US and Russia in terms of number of cases.

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Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro faces mounting pressure over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak10
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro faces mounting pressure over his handling of the coronavirus outbreakCredit: AP:Associated Press
The country this week saw 1,179 people die in a single day10
The country this week saw 1,179 people die in a single dayCredit: Getty Images - Getty
It has now lost almost 18,000 people in total10
It has now lost almost 18,000 people in totalCredit: Getty Images - Getty
Workers bury a coronavirus victim at Sao Paulo's Vila Formosa cemetery, which has reported a 50 per cent increase in burials on a year ago10
Workers bury a coronavirus victim at Sao Paulo's Vila Formosa cemetery, which has reported a 50 per cent increase in burials on a year agoCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Brazil's previous highest daily toll was 881, recorded on May 12.

The news comes as the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, faces mounting pressure over his management of the outbreak.

A poll this month by Datafolha found 45 per cent of people thought his handling was bad or terrible, while only 27 per cent thought it was good or excellent.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly tried to play down the severity of the pandemic, referring to the coronavirus as a "little flu", and has attended rallies calling for an end to lockdown measures.

Much of the power to impose or lift restrictions in Brazil lies with the governors of its 26 states.

The president has also begun advocating the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug touted by President Trump as a possible treatment for coronavirus.

Claims about the supposed efficacy of the drug have circulated since the beginning of the pandemic, but authorities such as the US government's Food and Drugs Administration have warned there is no evidence that it is safe or effective.

Bolsonaro has said he is keeping a supply of hydroxychloroquine in case his 93-year-old mother should need it, and his interior health minister is today expected to release new guidelines expanding the recommended use of the drug.

On Friday, the previous health minister resigned over the guidelines, becoming the second trained doctor to leave in a month amid disagreements over how to handle the epidemic.

Sao Paulo's Vila Formosa cemetery, the largest in Latin America, has reported a 50 per cent increase in the number of burials on a year ago.

Bolsonaro is also facing calls for his impeachment following the resignation last month of justice minister Sergio Moro in protest of alleged corruption on the part of Bolsonaro.

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Moro's resignation followed Bolsonaro's sacking of Maurício Valeixo, the head of Brazil's federal police, allegedly as part of an attempt to impede federal police investigations into the president's allies.

The Datafolha poll also found that 46 percent thought Bolsonaro should resign, up from 37 percent last month, while those who thought he should stay had fallen from 59 percent to 50 percent.

Flower arrangements on graves at the Vila Formosa cemetery10
Flower arrangements on graves at the Vila Formosa cemeteryCredit: EPA
Bolsonaro has appeared at numerous protests calling for the end of lockdown measures10
Bolsonaro has appeared at numerous protests calling for the end of lockdown measuresCredit: Reuters
A motorcade of protesters supporting the president in Brasilia10
A motorcade of protesters supporting the president in BrasiliaCredit: Reuters
The country now has the third-highest number of cases in the world10
The country now has the third-highest number of cases in the worldCredit: AP:Associated Press
An aerial view of new graves being dug at the Vila Formosa cemetery10
An aerial view of new graves being dug at the Vila Formosa cemeteryCredit: Getty Images - Getty
The president addressing a protest in Brasilia10
The president addressing a protest in BrasiliaCredit: Reuters
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