Coronavirus: Brazil reports record 33,274 cases in 24 hours

Brazil records 956 new deaths due to COVID-19 in 24 hours. Pic/AFP

Brazil has surpassed Russia to become the second country in the world with highest cases of novel Coronavirus, second to the US, after reporting over 33,000 infections, a record high, on Saturday.

According to Reuters, Brazil's health ministry said the country on Saturday registered 33,274 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 4,98,440. The death toll also increased to 28,834, with 956 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the ministry said. Despite a sharp rise in cases, several states are planning to ease the lockdown, ignoring the health experts's warning that the worst is yet to come, reported Reuters.

'US had 1L deaths early May'
Meanwhile, an analysis of overall deaths during the pandemic shows that the US probably reached the 1,00,000 milestone three weeks ago. The country stated that the number of people reported to have died of COVID-19 infection surpassed 1,00,000 this week.

Between March 1 and May 9, the nation recorded an estimated 1,01,600 excess deaths, or deaths beyond the number that would normally be expected for that time of year, according to an analysis conducted for The Washington Post by a research team led by the Yale School of Public Health. That figure reflects about 26,000 more fatalities than were attributed to COVID-19 on death certificates during that period, according to federal data.

1,05,500 'excess death'
Those 26,000 fatalities were not necessarily caused directly by the virus. They could also include people who died as a result of the epidemic but not from the disease itself, such as those who were afraid to seek medical help for unrelated illnesses. Increases or decreases in other categories of deaths, such as motor vehicle accidents, also affected the count.

Such "excess death" analyses are a standard tool used by epidemiologists to gauge the exact death toll of infectious-disease outbreaks and other widespread disasters. The researchers estimated that the number of excess deaths between March 1 and May 9 was most likely between 97,500 and 105,500. "It's clear that the burden is quite a bit higher than reported totals," said Daniel Weinberger, professor of epidemiology from the same varsity who led the analysis.

4,98,440
Total no. of COVID-19 cases in Brazil

28,834
Total COVID-19 death toll in Brazil

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