Brazil becomes second country to pass 300,000 COVID deaths

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Brazil has reached 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and becomes the second nation to top that figure. The United States hit the same milestone on December 14, but it has a larger population.

Today’s coronavirus figures from the Brazilian health ministry add another 2,009 deaths to the country’s tally, which local media say is an undercount.

Yesterday, Brazil hit a single-day record of 3,251 COVID-19 deaths and authorities fear that April could be as grim as March in the country’s overwhelmed hospitals.

Brazil added 100,000 deaths to its tally in only 75 days, a spike health experts have blamed on a lack of political coordination, new variants that spread more easily and a disregard for health protocols in many parts of the country.

A demonstrator places a Brazil national flag on a mattress symbolizing COVID-19 victims, during a protest against the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, in front of the Ronaldo Gazolla hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)