Rio de Janiero- Brazil passed 1 million
coronavirus cases on Friday and approached 50 000 deaths, a new
nadir for the world's second worst-hit country as it struggles
with a tense political climate and worsening economic outlook.
Second only to the United States in both cases and deaths,
Brazil confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus on February 26. The virus has spread relentlessly across the continent-sized
country, eroding support for right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro
and raising fears of economic collapse after years of anemic
growth.
Brazil reported 1 032 913 confirmed cases on Friday, with
1 206 new deaths to take total official fatalities to 48 954,
the Health Ministry said. Friday also saw a new record daily
number of cases, with 54 771, suggesting the outbreak is far
from over. Brazil is likely to surpass 50 000 deaths on
Saturday, although weekend reporting can be lower.
Even so, the true extent of the outbreak far exceeds the
official figures, according to many experts, who cite a lack of
widespread testing.
"That number of 1 million is much less than the real number
of people who have been infected, because there is
under-reporting of a magnitude of five to 10 times," said
Alexandre Naime Barbosa, a medical professor at the São Paulo
State University. "The true number is probably at least 3
million and could even be as high as 10 million people."
Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, arrived in
Brazil via wealthy tourists returning from Europe to major
southeastern cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and has
spread deep into the interior, reaching 82% of Brazil's
municipalities, Health Ministry data showed.
Bolsonaro, sometimes called the "Tropical Trump," has been
widely criticized for his handling of the crisis. The country
still has had no permanent health minister after losing two
since April, following clashes with the president.
Bolsonaro has shunned social distancing, calling it a
job-killing measure more dangerous than the virus itself. He has
also promoted two anti-malarial drugs as remedies, chloroquine
and hydroxychloroquine, despite little evidence they work.
The far-right former army captain's handling of the crisis
has prompted Brazilians to bang pots and pans regularly outside
their apartments in protest, but it has not stopped him from
wading into costly political battles with his own cabinet and
the Supreme Court, stoking fears of instability.
Pressure from Bolsonaro and public fatigue after months of
ineffective state and local isolation orders has led governors
and mayors to begin lifting restrictions on commerce and other
economic activity.
Public health experts have warned that loosening
restrictions too soon threatens to accelerate contagion and
drive up fatalities.
A worsening outbreak could weigh on already-grim economic
forecasts. The government has said the economy will contract by
4.7% this year, while economists surveyed by the central bank
think it will fall more than 6%.
Latin America has registered 90,439 deaths, according to a
Reuters tally, with nearly 2 million cases.