Rio de Janeiro: Brazil on Friday claimed the unenviable position of having the second-highest coronavirus death toll worldwide behind the United States, where several states have posted record daily case totals, signaling the crisis is far from over.
Brazil's health ministry recorded 909 deaths in the past 24 hours, putting the total at 41,828 - meaning the country of 212 million people has now surpassed Britain's death toll.
Experts warn the actual number of cases in Latin America's biggest economy could be many times higher than the confirmed figure of 828,810.
"Some areas are at a critical stage" in Brazil, with intensive care unit occupancy levels of more than 90 percent, World Health Organization emergencies director Mike Ryan told journalists in Geneva.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who threatened last week to quit the WHO over "ideological bias," has dismissed the virus as a "little flu," and berated state officials for imposing lockdowns.
The region has recorded more than 1.5 million infections and 75,000 deaths, with no signs the virus is slowing.
And in US
In the US, which has confirmed the most COVID-19 deaths - over 114,000 - more than a dozen states, including two of the most populous, Texas and Florida, reported their highest-ever daily case totals this week.
"It's important that we remember that this situation is unprecedented. And that the pandemic has not ended," Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a media briefing on Friday.
Nevertheless, US President Donald Trump and many local officials remain determined to get the world's biggest economy back on track.
The virus and resulting lockdowns have caused a spike in US unemployment - 44.2 million people have filed claims for jobless benefits since mid-March.
Worldwide, the pandemic has killed more than 424,000 people and infected more than 7.6 million.
