Brazil crosses grim milestone of 400,000 deaths
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Roshan Amiri
- . April 30, 2021
- . Update: April 30, 2021 9:14 pm
Brazil has crossed a grim milestone of Covid-19 deaths as the number of casualties crossed 400,000. This is the second-highest in the world, as the South American country struggles with its vaccination program.
In the last 24 hours, there were a total of 3,001 deaths, after a peak of 4,000 was reached at the start of April. The cases have seen a slight fall but in the last 14 days, the average of cases and deaths remains high.
Congress has started a probe into the government’s handling of the pandemic. People accuse President Jair Bolsonaro of consistently speaking against the virus, lockdowns, masks, and unproven drugs. His support has plummeted and he is facing widespread criticism.
The outbreak has been spurred by transmissible variants of the virus and an absence of coherent and coordinated national measures. The situation overall has worsened in many areas as the health system is on the verge of collapse and cities and states failed to impose restrictions and stood at ease.
Read more : COVID goes out of control in India as countries promise rapid aid
In more than a third of the states, the rate of occupancy of intensive care unit beds has recently remained at or above 90%, as per the health institute Fiocruz. It has further said the scenario is and will remain “critical”.
In the last 37 days, Brazil recorded 100,000 deaths, between March and April. These were the worst months in the country. Only the U.S. so far has a higher death toll with India speeding by. Since the start of the pandemic, Brazil has seen more than 14.5 million cases.
Meanwhile, several cities have had to temporarily stop their vaccination programs amid a shortage of doses.Experts blame many factors for the recent uptick that includes the more contagious P1 variant, slowness with restrictive measures, and slow vaccine rollout.
