In a first : Brazil crossed 4,000 deaths in 24 hours

Special Desk

For the first time since the covid pandemic began Brazil crossed 4000 Covid-related deaths mark in 24 hours. Brazil recorded 4195 new deaths and experts say a more contagious variant is fuelling a huge surge in new cases.

The variant is supposed to have emerged in Amazon as state in November 2020, spreading quickly in the state capital Manaus, according to researchers in Brazil.

Here hospitals are overcrowded, with people dying as they wait for treatment in some cities, and the health system is on the brink of collapse in many pockets of the country. The country’s total death toll is now almost 337,000, next to the US.

But despite this figure the President Jair Bolsonaro has oppose any lockdown measures to curb the outbreak. He argues that the damage to the economy would be worse than the effects of the virus itself, and has instead tried to revert some of the restrictions imposed by local authorities in the courts.

As statistics put, till now Brazil has recorded more than 13 million cases of coronavirus. Some 66,570 people died of Covid-19 in March, more than double the previous monthly record. In most states, patients with Covid-19 are using more than 90% of intensive care unit beds though numbers have been stable since the past week.

Also Read : Kim joins billionaire club

Also Read : Heartbreak, injury at ‘Mrs Sri Lanka’ event

Several states have reported short supplies of oxygen and sedative. But despite the critical situation, some cities and states are already easing measures limiting the movement of people.

“The fact is the anti-lockdown narrative of President Jair Bolsonaro has won,” Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil’s Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials said.