Coronavirus

Brazil: 3 million cases; 100,000 deaths

Brazil: 3 million cases; 100,000 deaths
São Paulo’s Vila Formosa cemetery. Photo: BW Press/Shutterstock

Brazil reached a terrible milestone today, becoming just the second country in the world — after the U.S. — to top 3 million coronavirus cases and 100,000 deaths.

Despite the immense death toll, the Brazilian federal government chose to celebrate “one of the world’s lowest death rates per 1 million inhabitants in the world.” It was not the first time that the Jair Bolsonaro administration tried to minimize the coronavirus numbers in Brazil, attempting to shift the focus to a “glass-half-full” approach. Previously, the Health Ministry launched the “Scoreboard of Life,” trying to call attention to the number of patients who recovered from a Covid-19 infection.

During a Thursday live social media broadcast alongside Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello, he said: “It’s getting to 100,000 deaths, maybe today. But let’s get on with our lives and find a way out of this.” Mr. Bolsonaro added that he is “sorry” for the casualties.

Mr. Pazuello mentioned that most patients recover and that “life goes on.”

Support this coverage →Support this coverage →