Brazilian Corona Deaths are Peaking But Bolsonaro Persists

In Brazil, the threshold of 4,000 corona deaths in one day was crossed for the first time yesterday. “If Brazil doesn’t get this under control, it will remain a threat to the rest of the world.”

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Health’s most fresh valuation, 4,195 covid deaths were added in 24 hours. With a total of 336,947 corona deaths, the country with 212 million inhabitants is the second most affected nation in the biosphere in absolute numbers, after the United States.

The sharp increase in the death toll in Brazil since the end of February is explained by non-compliance with corona measures and the rapid spread of a more contagious and deadly variant of the disease.

Despite the numbers, President Jair Bolsonaro continues to oppose the social distance rules imposed by local governments. He says the damage to the economy would be many times greater than the damage the virus could do.

After an initial meeting of the task force to combat the pandemic, Bolsonaro reiterated on Wednesday his criticisms of the lockdowns and his views on the normalization of life.