Brazil’s confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday rose past those of Spain and Italy, which was once the epicenter of the pandemic, making Brazil’s outbreak the fourth-largest worldwide, official figures showed.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health registered 14,919 new confirmed cases in the prior 24 hours. The country had a total of 233,511 cases as of yesterday, behind the US, Russia and the UK. Brazil has done just a fraction of the testing seen in those three countries.
The global distinction is likely to pile pressure on Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who on Friday lost his second health minister in a month as he defies public health experts and calls for widespread use of unproven drugs.
Photo: AFP
Bolsonaro has been fiercely critical of the orders by many of Brazil’s state governors for strict social isolation and quarantine to combat the spread of the virus, including the closure of schools, shops and restaurants.
Bolsonaro has argued that the toll on the economy is becoming unbearable and businesses must be allowed to reopen as soon as possible.
The government now expects Brazil would post its biggest annual economic contraction this year since records began more than a century ago.
Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao underwent a COVID-19 test and was placed in isolation at his official residence on Saturday, after a public servant who had been near him last week tested positive.
Mourao, 66, would not fulfill official duties today, when the results are expected.
Bolsonaro has undergone several coronavirus tests after ministers and other close aides tested positive.
Nationwide testing in Brazil still lags far behind European nations. Brazil had processed nearly 338,000 tests in official labs by the beginning of the week, according to the ministry. Another 145,000 tests were under analysis or waiting in line.
By contrast, Italy and Spain have each run about 1.9 million official diagnostic tests for the virus.
The ministry on Saturday also reported 816 new deaths related to the virus. Brazil has reported 15,663 coronavirus deaths as of yesterday.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
RSS