LIVE | Brazil passes the limit of 500,000 corona deaths | Inland

06.33 – Brazil passes the limit of 500,000 corona deaths

Brazil passed the limit of 500,000 corona deaths on Saturday, the Ministry of Health announced. In the past 24 hours, another 2301 Brazilians have died as a result of the lung virus, bringing the total number of recorded deaths from Covid-19 to 500,800. No other country after the United States has so many corona deaths.

“500,000 lives lost due to the pandemic affecting us Brazil and the world,” tweeted Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga. Experts say the actual number of victims is likely much higher.

More than 17.8 million people in the South American country have been infected with the lung virus since the start of the corona pandemic. The number of new cases is currently growing at about 80,000 per day. Despite those high numbers of daily infections, the Copa América, the championship of South America, has been played in the country since last week.

Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Saturday to protest against President Jair Bolsonaro’s lax corona policy. According to the largest news channel Globo, they cursed the right-wing populist ruler in at least 44 cities because, among other things, he failed to quickly stock up on the necessary doses of vaccine and still questions the need to wear a face mask.

Outraged people blame Bolsonaro for missing opportunities to order vaccines in a timely manner. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer said it had not received a response to early offers made in the August-November period last year. A participant in a demonstration in the capital Brasilia accused the government of genocide because nothing was done in 2020 to protect the inhabitants against Covid-19.

The word genocide was also used elsewhere. The president’s press officer was unable or unwilling to respond immediately to Pfizer’s claims. According to official data from the National Health Service, only 11 percent of the population of 214 million has been fully vaccinated, at least 29 percent have had their first shot.

–