MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's coronavirus death toll surpassed 25,000 as the pandemic accelerates

The health ministry said it had confirmed 1,086 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the fifth time the daily toll has exceeded 1,000 since the crisis accelerated in Brazil

Brazil's death toll from the new coronavirus surpassed 25,000 on Wednesday, as the country emerged as the latest epicenter in the pandemic. The health ministry said it had confirmed 1,086 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the fifth time the daily toll has exceeded 1,000 since the crisis accelerated in Brazil a week ago.

That pushed the nationwide death toll to 25,598. The country of 210 million people now has 411,821 confirmed cases of the virus, second only to the United States.

Experts say under-testing means the real figures are probably much higher.

President Jair Bolsonaro is facing mounting criticism over his response to the health and economic crisis. The far-right leader has downplayed the virus and railed against stay-at-home measures, arguing the economic fallout risks causing more damage than the virus itself.

But most state governments have stuck to the World Health Organization's guidance and closed non-essential businesses.

Sao Paulo, the country's industrial hub and hardest-hit state, extended its stay-at-home Wednesday until Jun 15, though Governor Joao Doria announced a gradual reopening of “some activities” would be allowed from Jun 1.

Bolsonaro has meanwhile pinned his hopes on the medication hydroxychloroquine, which –like US President Donald Trump– he has touted as a potential wonder drug against COVID-19.

Brazil's health ministry recommends doctors in the public health system prescribe hydroxychloroquine or a related drug, chloroquine, from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.

Meanwhile, hospitals in Brazil are dangerously close to the breaking point in the hardest-hit areas, and the outbreak is not expected to peak here until next month. One of Brazil's best-known doctors, the neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis, called it “the worst war Brazil has ever faced.”

“We never had an event like this. We never lost 25,000 people in a span of three months,” Nicolelis, who is coordinating the virus response in the impoverished and hard-hit northeast. “We never got invaded in our history, but I'm referring to this virus as an invasion. It came like an invading army, and it's invading the whole of the country.”