Brazil has surpassed six million confirmed cases of COVID-1, as the world’s third-worst coronavirus outbreak begins to surge again amid fears that a second wave is under way.
The South American nation on Friday joined the United States and India as the only countries to have passed the six million mark. With almost 170,000 confirmed fatalities, Brazil has the world’s second-highest death toll.
After three months of falling numbers since peaking in late July, infections are increasing again, government data shows.
Many places went into lockdown after the virus first appeared in Brazil in February, but life in the largest cities has largely returned close to pre-pandemic normality in recent weeks, with bars, restaurants and stores full of people, often wearing no masks.
In the last few days, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have registered a surge in hospital admissions of patients with COVID-19. In Rio this week, 90 per cent of the intensive care units in public hospitals were occupied, according to the Rio state health secretary’s office.
Brazil hit a peak daily case load of just over 69,000, with around 1600 deaths, on July 29. By late October the virus appeared to be getting under control, with averages falling off to 20,000 cases and 425 deaths per day.
But this week through Thursday, the average for daily deaths rose to 480 and cases to 26,500.
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