Brazil records deadliest 24 hours of Covid-19 pandemic

As some parts of the world are easing Covid-19 restrictions due to low positivity rate, Brazil smashed its previous daily record with 4,195 Covid-19 fatalities, health ministry data Tuesday showed — marking the highest death count in the world for that 24-hour period, according to CNN.

The publication indicates that the new figures pushed Brazil’s total pandemic death toll to almost 337,000.

Additionally, nearly 87,000 new Covid-19 cases were reported across the country, raising the total tally of infections to 13,100,580, according to the health ministry.

Different quarters in the country have attributed the increasing numbers to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s opposition to Covid-19 restrictions.

It is reported that President Bolsonaro has been reluctant to effect lockdown and has repeatedly opposed lockdowns and restrictive measures, and criticized governors and mayors with insulting language for implementing them.

 Global Covid-19 cases have risen for the sixth consecutive week, according to the World Health Organization’s Weekly Epidemiological Update on Tuesday.

Brazil, the US, Turkey, France and India are reporting the highest case numbers.

Maneno Chimulala

I am a journalist, educator, and activist with passion for telling stories about social justice, sports and political issues. I graduated from Mzuzu University. I started my career at the Maravi Post online publication in 2012 as an intern while in college. Upon graduating from Mzuzu University I was offered a job as Sports Reporter because of my background as a goalkeeper and rose to the position of sub editor. I also had a short stint with Nyasatimes, Malawi Punch and Malawi Digest. Over the past seven years, I have worked intimately with rural organizations and communities in Malawi on human rights, girl child education and grassroots development projects. With an academic background in education, I also volunteer as male champion for girls’ education under Girls Empowerment Networks (GENET) in Malawi’s South West Education Division (SWED).