Brazil's Sao Paulo reports record 1,021 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours

SAO PAULO - The Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, the country's most populous, registered 1,021 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, a new daily record, state authorities said on Tuesday.

Sao Paulo's death toll is a worrisome sign that Brazil's total death toll for the day, which will only be released on Tuesday night, could also be a new record.

In Sao Paulo, the previous highest number of daily deaths was 679 last Tuesday.

The spike in the COVID-19 death toll in Sao Paulo comes as Brazil has become the latest epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with overwhelmed hospitals and a shortage of oxygen and drugs in many cities.

Brazil, with a population of 211 million, has recorded roughly 12 million cases of COVID-19 and 295,425 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

-reuters-

Brazil surpasses 100,000 coronavirus deaths: officials

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil on Saturday surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths and three million cases of infection, according to the latest tally from the Ministry of Health.

With 100,477 fatalities and 3,012,412 confirmed cases, the South American country of 212 million people is the second hardest-hit country in the global pandemic, after the United States.

The health ministry reported 905 new deaths in the past 24 hours, as well as 49,970 new cases. 

But the official figures are most likely an undercount, with experts estimating that the total number of infections could be up to six times higher due to insufficient testing.

Brazil has seen 478 deaths per million people, a figure equivalent to that of the United States (487), but lower than that of Spain (609) or Italy (583).

Senate speaker Davi Alcolumbre announced four days of mourning in Congress to pay tribute to the country's 100,000-plus virus victims.

The coronavirus outbreak in Brazil is showing no signs of slowing as it enters is sixth month.

The country's first confirmed COVID-19 case was identified in Sao Paulo on February 26, with the first death on March 12, also in the city.

Agence France-Presse