Brazil cases surge past 600,000 as country's death toll passes Italy
India and Brazil to save the planet
With more than half a million COVID-19 cases, Brazil ranks second in the world with the number of infected people behind the United States.
Also read: Brazil yet again reports record number of coronavirus deaths
The number of people, who have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, has increased by record 1,473 to 34,021 within the past 24 hours, the national Health Ministry said on late Thursday.
Within the same period, the number of confirmed cases has risen by 30,925 to 614,941.
A day earlier, Brazil reported about 28,633 new cases of the coronavirus disease and 1,349 new fatalities.
President Jair Bolsonaro has fiercely criticized coronavirus stay-at-home measures, even as the number of infections and deaths continues to soar.
The far-right leader has urged businesses to wage “war” on state governors who order business closures, arguing they are needlessly hurting Latin America’s biggest economy.
(With inputs from agencies)