⚠️ UPDATE: Brazil tops 13,000 deaths by Covid-19. Confirmed cases approach 190,000

Brazil registered 749 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, and added another 11,385 confirmed cases to the overall tally — a new daily record. There are now 188,974 confirmed cases in the country, 51.4 percent of which are still being treated, according to the Ministry of Health. A total of 13,149 people have died from the coronavirus in Brazil.

This new record comes as health authorities decided to postpone their daily briefing to the press, in which they were expected to present new social isolation guidelines. The cancelation was reportedly due to a lack of consensus with local governments about the measures.

The postponement also occurred after Health Minister Nelson Teich warned about the potential side effects of antimalarial drug chloroquine — which has been touted as an effective treatment against Covid-19, despite a lack of scientific evidence. The statement contradicted President Jair Bolsonaro, who once again supported the use of the medicine, and once again talked about the need for his cabinet members to be “aligned” with him.

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