Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
Brazil has now become second country in the world to report more than a million cases of Covid-19. The health ministry also posted a record number of new cases in the past 24 hours, more than 54,000.
In addition, there were more than 1,200 deaths for the fourth consecutive day, taking the total to nearly 49,000. Experts say the outbreak is weeks away from its peak.
The new figure was revealed hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the coronavirus pandemic was entering a “new and dangerous” phase, with its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warning that cases were rising at the same time as people are growing weary of lockdowns and governments are seeking to restart their economies.
Only the US has seen more infections than Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has been heavily criticised for his response to the crisis. The far-right leader has repeatedly clashed with state governors and mayors who have adopted strict restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, shutting down major cities.
Bolsonaro argues that the economic impact of the measures will be much bigger than the virus itself, a position shared by many. But his overall approach to the crisis has led to the resignation of two doctors as health minister.
Jair Bolsonaro has long-admired Donald Trump and his way of doing politics. The two men have much in common – not least the way they’ve handled the pandemic in their own countries. The figures in the US are staggering – but Brazil, too, is frightening. They are now exclusive members of a club nobody wants to join.
At the same time, there is a widespread wish to restart the economy as analysts forecast a contraction between 6% and 8% this year with millions of jobs lost. The government has introduced temporary payments to help people affected by the pandemic but large numbers are expected to be thrown into poverty. On Friday, Brazil’s health ministry confirmed a total of 1,032,913 cases.
