Brazil sees record daily spike in coronavirus deaths

BUENOS AIRES

Brazil’s Health Ministry on Friday reported 3,650 new coronavirus deaths for the first time since coronavirus hit the country.

With the new additions, the death toll reached 307,112 in the South American country.

As much as 84,245 new cases reported by the health ministry took that tally to more than 12.4 million.

With a population of more than 210 million, Brazil is the country most affected by the pandemic, after the US.

The country has seen difficult days in recent weeks because of occupancies in intensive care units and the spread of a more contagious variant that is thought to have originated in Amazonas state.

In 18 of the country's 26 states and federal regions, intensive care units had at least 90% occupancy, and hospitals complained about a shortage of medical equipment.

The average daily death toll in the past week is about 2,300 and the number of cases is more than 77,000.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 2.76 million lives in 192 countries and regions.

More than 125.9 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 71.34 million, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Merve Berker