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.