Brazil’s 2020 in numbers

This is Brazil by the Numbers, a weekly digest of the most interesting figures tucked inside the latest news about Brazil. A selection of numbers that help explain what is going on in Brazil. This week, we look back at the numbers throughout 2020, the year of Covid-19. Join us as we look back on a turbulent year.

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7.2 million Covid-19 cases, nearly 200,000 deaths

Brazil’s first coronavirus case was confirmed late in February, when the country quickly spiraled into one of the world’s hotbeds for the disease. Led by President Jair Bolsonaro, the government failed to instruct the population to observe isolation measures and the virus spread unchecked in multiple regions. In Manaus, the local health system collapsed and municipal funeral services were forced to hold mass burials due to the sheer amount of bodies. 

Between September and November, cases and deaths went down and authorities declared a victory against Covid-19. But a second wave is coming strong — and data shows it is spreading even faster than before. It took 34 days for the total number of cases to jump from 4 to 5 million, and 44 days to go from 5 to 6 million. But Brazil’s last 1 million cases were recorded in just 26 days. Meanwhile, on December 17, daily deaths reached four figures...