Days after Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for coronavirus, the country has been ranked second hot spot for the virus after the United States, registering 631 new deaths.
Aside from the deaths, the total number of Brazilians that have contracted the virus has risen to 1,864,681 with several others yet untested.
The country’s Health Ministry, in a statement on Sunday, confirmed the death toll and stated that the number was low due fewer activities during weekends.
“Brazil now has an official total of 72,100 deaths, the ministry said. The numbers of deaths and cases are usually lower on the weekend because of patchy reporting. Experts say the true totals are likely far higher due to a lack of testing”.
Among the about two million confirmed cases was the country’s president who was confirmed positive after his fourth test which indicated that he has started developing symptoms, including a high temperature.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly played down risks of what he has called the “little flu”, saying he would not be seriously affected. He has opposed lockdowns, which he says hurt the economy.
Brazil has the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the world, after the US.
