LIVE: Brazil Has Worst Single-Day Covid-19 Death Toll Since Pandemic | Top News

(Mar. 24) Brazil became just the second country to cross the mark of 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic at a time when the disease is raging like wildfire across the vast Latin American country and overrunning hospitals.

It took just two-and-a-half months for Brazil to go from 200,000 to 300,000 deaths compared with five months between 100,000 and 200,000 fatalities, in a sign of the speed at which Covid-19 and its P.1 variant is spreading.

The Health Ministry reported 2,009 additional deaths on Wednesday, taking the toll to 300,685. New confirmed cases jumped 89,992 in the past 24 hours, to 12,220,011. Both overall totals are the highest globally after the U.S.

“Brazil’s current scenario is really critical,” said Amaury Fabbro, a doctor and professor at the University of Sao Paulo. “It’s not just a question of overall deaths, but of overcrowded hospitals and supply problems. There are shortages of oxygen and medical professionals.”

But while the U.S. has already vaccinated 25% of its population with at least one dose, Brazil’s struggle to secure supplies and coordinate a nationwide campaign among the federal government and its 27 states, means just 6% have received a shot.

A patchwork response to the pandemic has complicated any consistent preventative health measures and enforcement has been near impossible. President Jair Bolsonaro has only recently begun to wear a mask more regularly as he faces pressure from the business community, supreme court and congress to come up with a solution to the health crisis that is hitting the economy once again.

On Tuesday, Bolsonaro made a nationwide address saying life will be back to normal “very soon” and highlighted the importance of vaccines, calling 2021 “a vaccination year for Brazilians.” The televised address was met with louder than usual pot-banging protests in several cities across the country. Shouting from their windows, some protesters called him murderer.

Hours later, Bolsonaro announced the creation of a Covid committee, which will work with governors to centralize measures against the pandemic. The announcement followed a meeting between the president and chiefs of the Supreme Court, Lower House, Senate and some governors.

It was a stark change of tone for a President who has downplayed the severity of the pandemic, stressed the need to keep the economy open, and shunned vaccinations. Last week, Bolsonaro filed a request with the Supreme Court to overturn lockdowns in several states and on Sunday, he celebrated his 66th birthday with hundreds of supporters in the capital Brasilia, hugging children and passing out birthday cake.

Brazil is living its most dramatic moment of the pandemic that’s entering its 13th month in the country with near daily records of deaths or cases and the worst crisis ever across its vast health system. ICU capacity rates were at or above 80% in 25 states, as of the last Fiocruz report on March 23, while 18 states had levels higher than 90%.

The report also highlighted a “disproportional increase in mortality in the country,” which went to 3.1% from 2% at the end of last year. The jump signals patients could be dying due to a lack of assistance or because of a failures in health-care, Fiocruz said.

Sao Paulo state, the country’s wealthiest and most populated, reported oxygen shortages for the first time recently. Another 81 cities are facing the risk of running out of oxygen, according to a survey by the National Front of Mayors published this week. Brasilia’s hospitals are at full capacity with some local media reports talking about bodies covered in corridors for those who died waiting for a bed.

At the same time, misinformation about the pandemic has also traveled fast on social media, including recommendations to take unproven medications, false news about vaccines and insults against governors imposing restrictions.

The crisis has prompted neighbors to close borders, impose travel bans and require forced quarantines while global health experts warn of the threat Brazil presents to a world that is hoping to get back to normal through the widespread deployment of vaccines.

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