
Brazil has recorded over 50,000 deaths due to the novel coronavirus and over one million cases as the virus continues to spread like wildfire in the world.
According to Brazil's Ministry of Health, the country reported 641 new deaths in 24 hours taking the death toll to 50,617 with 1,085,038 recorded infections.
The South American country under the leadership of Jair Bolsonaro is second worst-hit in terms of coronavirus, behind the United States. US' numbers are ahead on both, in terms of deaths and cases.
Despite Brazil's deplorable condition, President Jair Bolsonaro continues to be in denial.
President Jair Bolsonaro, who has famously compared the virus to a "little flu," has clashed with state and local authorities over their use of stay-at-home measures and business closures to contain it.
The far-right leader argues the economic impact of such measures risks being worse than the virus itself and has instead pushed his health ministry to recommend chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as treatments, despite uncertainty about the anti-malaria drugs' effectiveness against COVID-19.
Bolsonaro threatened this month to quit the World Health Organization, accusing it of "ideological bias" against the drugs, and has ditched two health ministers since the start of the pandemic after clashing over policy differences.