translated from Spanish: Brazil records new Covid-19 death record for second day in a row

Brazil’s Ministry of Health has reported more than 2,280 coronavirus deaths in the last day, a new record in daily deaths from the pandemic. The country thus accumulates 270,656 people killed by COVID-19, which has also left 79,876 more positives to reach a total of 11,202,305, of which 9,913,739 correspond to patients who have already managed to overcome the disease. Brazil faces the worst peak of the pandemic, which also has collapsed the health system. At least 20 critical units in the country are in a critical situation, according to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). Among them are those in three southern states of the country, Rio Grande del Sur, Santa Catarina and Paraná, which have more than 90 percent of the intensive care places occupied, according to the Brazilian medium G1. Fiocruz has also recently pointed out that 25 capitals in the country had at least 80 percent of their seats full. Meanwhile, up to 38 people affected by the coronavirus have died waiting for a bed in these units in the state of Sao Paulo, where the daily average of deaths exceeds 300 with an occupation of more than 80 percent in the ICU. Brazil’s serious situation has led experts to call for more restrictive measures to contain the virus, as well as speed up vaccination. So far, 9,013,639 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 3,166,189 the second, according to data from the media consortium that analyses the evolution of the pandemic. In this context, governors of several states have on Wednesday defended a national pact against the pandemic in a communiqué and called for faster inoculation. They have also advocated for isolation measures and have opted for preventive measures for hospital occupancy, as bed expansion has “limits,” G1 says. In addition, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has given the green light on Wednesday to the law that allows companies, states and municipalities to buy vaccines and to another extent that allows the purchase of inocculators prior to authorization by the Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).

Original source in Spanish