RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil on Friday recorded 3,693 new deaths due to Covid-19, bringing the total number of fatalities from the disease in the country to 348,718, the Health Ministry said, a day after the daily count reached a new record of 4,249 deaths.
According to the ministry, there were also 93,317 new cases of coronavirus reported, with the total of confirmed infections in the country advancing to 13,373,174.
Brazil has the second-highest absolute count of cases and deaths from Covid-19 globally, behind only the United States. However, while rates are trending downward in the U.S., the pandemic is still accelerating in Brazil, which currently accounts for one in four deaths worldwide each day, according to a Reuters survey.
Other South American countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, and Chile are a similar situation.
Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Friday that the federal government believes the best way to reduce the number of deaths is vaccination. President Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed the immunization and the pandemic on several occasions over the past year.
“We are still having a high number of deaths. Despite the efforts that exist, the mortality in intensive care units (ICUs) is high, and we need to bring solutions. From the government’s point of view, the most consistent solution is a strong vaccination campaign,” said Queiroga in a press conference.
“We have already lived through a pandemic that dragged on for more than a year, many people lost their lives, society needs our comfort,” he added. However, he also affirmed that the portfolio does not have a magic wand to solve all health problems.
The state most affected by the coronavirus, São Paulo, reached on Friday the mark of 2,618,067 cases and 81,750 deaths. Still, a 17.7% drop in the number of new hospitalizations over the last week led the local government to relax some restrictive measures, regressing the state to the so-called red phase.
According to information from the state government, ICU beds’ occupancy rate in São Paulo is 88.3%. The drop was attributed by local authorities precisely to the restrictions.
“We continue with high indicators, but the expectation is that we will gradually reduce the numbers,” said Governor João Doria (PSDB) on Twitter. “Even with the improvement in hospitalizations, I reinforce that it is not yet the time to relax the social distance.”
According to data from the Ministry of Health, Minas Gerais is the second state with the highest number of coronavirus infections recorded, with 1,208,529 cases. Still, Rio de Janeiro is the second with the most deaths recorded, with 39,038 deaths.
The government still reports 11,791,885 people recovered from Covid-19 and 1,232,571 patients in follow-up.