Brazil has now suffered more deaths from the novel coronavirus than Spain, according to new statistics released by Johns Hopkins University in the US.
The Health Ministry said the total number of people who have died of the new coronavirus in Brazil has risen to 27,787.
The total number of confirmed infections rose to 465,166, the second-highest tally globally, behind the US.
The number of undetected cases and deaths is likely to be much higher due to a lack of testing and a lag in processing laboratory results.
Brazil’s right-wing populist President Jair Bolsonaro considers COVID-19, the lung disease caused by the coronavirus, to be a “mild flu” and refuses to take protective measures.
He fears that a lockdown could harm the country’s economy.
However, a number of states have imposed exit restrictions and shutdowns to slow the spread of the virus.
dpa/NAN.
