Brazil surpasses one million coronavirus cases

BRASILIA: Brazil has become the second country to surpass one million confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, with total deaths fast approaching 50,000 as the disease continues to spread.

Brazil confirmed its first case of the virus on February 26 that has spread relentlessly across the country, eroding support for President Jair Bolsonaro and raising fears of economic collapse after years of growth.

Brazil has recorded 1,032,913 confirmed cases, second only to the United States, with 1,206 new deaths reported on Friday to take the total official fatalities to 48,954, the health ministry said.

The outbreak far exceeds official figures due to a lack of widespread testing in the country. Brazil’s health ministry had reported 978,142 total confirmed cases and 47,748 related deaths. The count has risen by a daily average of 25,000 new cases and 1,000 fatalities for the past week.

The virus arrived in Brazil from wealthy tourists returning from Europe to major southeastern cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, but has spread deep into the country reaching indigenous communities where access is limited.

Bolsonaro has been widely criticised for his handling of the crisis. The country still has had no permanent health minister after losing two since April, following clashes with the president.

Bolsonaro has shunned social distancing, calling it a job-killing measure that was more dangerous than the virus itself. He has promoted two anti-malarial drugs as remedies, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, despite little evidence they are effective.

The handling of the crisis has prompted Brazilians to bang pots and pans regularly outside their apartments in protest, but it has not stopped him from wading into costly political battles with his own cabinet and the Supreme Court, stoking fears of instability.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly clashed with state governors and mayors who have adopted strict restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, shutting down major cities. He argued that the economic impact of the measures will be much bigger than the virus itself,

Public health experts have warned that loosening restrictions too soon threatens to accelerate contagion and drive up fatalities. There is still concern that the health system will be unable to cope in some places and that the disease is spreading faster in remote areas.

A worsening outbreak could lead to grim economic forecasts. The government has said the economy will contract by 4.7 percent this year, while economists forecast it will fall more than 6 percent with millions of jobs lost.