Brazil reports over 131,000 deaths from COVID-19

A girl reacts during the reopening of the Christ the Redeemer statue after months-long closure due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 15 August 2020.Reuters

Brazil registered 814 new deaths from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the last 24 hours, which brought the death toll to 131,210, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday.

The ministry also said that the number of cases rose to 4,315,687 after the incorporation of 33,523 new cases, Xinhua reported.

Similar to last weekend, high temperatures on the country’s coasts brought thousands of people to the beach, particularly in the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, despite warnings to respect social distancing and avoiding crowds.

The state of Sao Paulo, which had seen a decline in the death rate from the virus for four weeks, is the current epicentre of the virus in Brazil with 32,567 deaths, followed by Rio de Janeiro with 16,985 deaths.