[News] Coronavirus: Brazil passes 100,000 deaths as outbreak shows no sign of easing

[_Klay_]

 

Brazil has recorded more 100,000 deaths linked to Covid-19, the world's second-highest figure, as the outbreak in the country shows no sign of easing.

The virus killed 50,000 people in three months, but that number doubled in just 50 days. There have been more than three million confirmed cases so far.

The pandemic is yet to peak but shops and restaurants have already reopened.

President Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed the impact of the virus and opposed measures that could hit the economy.

The far-right leader, who caught the disease himself and recovered, fought restrictions imposed by state governors to curb Covid-19, and has frequently joined crowds of supporters, at times without a face mask.

Experts have complained of a lack of a co-ordinated plan by the Bolsonaro government as local authorities now focus on restarting the economy, which is likely to boost the spread of the virus.

The federal government's response is being led by an army general who has no experience in public health. Two earlier health ministers, both physicians, left the job after disagreeing with the president over social distancing measures and the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment, though studies say it is ineffective and even dangerous.

President Bolsonaro - who has called Covid-19 a "little flu" and has been criticised at home and abroad for his response to the outbreak - said he recovered from his own infection thanks to the anti-malarial drug.