Brazil Records 13,717 Confirmed Coronavirus Cases and 667 Deaths (April 7th)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Brazil rose from 12,056 to 13,717, according to official data released on Tuesday, April 7th. There were 1,661 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. The deaths caused by the novel coronavirus have reached 667. By Monday, 553 lives had been lost.

There are infected people in all Brazilian states.

Only the state of Tocantins has not recorded any deaths from Covid-19 so far. Based on the comparison between infections and deaths, the virus mortality rate is 4.9 percent.

The report was released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday afternoon, with the figures updated as of 2 PM.

This time, Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta participated in the usual press conference. On Monday, he was in a meeting with President Jair Bolsonaro, at the Palácio do Planalto, on a day marked by tension and speculation surrounding his resignation. However, by the end of the day, Mandetta said he would remain in office.

Despite the rising numbers, the total number of infections in the country is even higher. The country is facing problems in securing the supply of tests that prove contamination by the virus even for cases deemed as suspected, and the government acknowledges underreporting.

At the press conference held on Tuesday, the Ministry detailed the transition strategy from broad social isolation to selective social isolation.

In the Ministry’s last epidemiological report, released on Monday, the measure was included as a recommendation for regions that have not committed more than half of their health care capacity.

The Ministry began to argue that cities with different epidemic scenarios should adopt different approaches. However, it has reiterated that social isolation is the only measure available so that total infections do not grow uncontrollably and lead the health system to collapse.