Brazil crosses 500,000 Covid-19 deaths amid 'critical' situation
The virus continues to spread as President Jair Bolsonaro refuses to back measures like social distancing. The health institute Fiocruz says the situation is "critical". Only 15% of adults are fully vaccinated.
Congress is investigating the government's handling of the pandemicPresident Bolsonaro has been heavily criticised for not implementing a coordinated national response and his scepticism toward vaccines, lockdowns and mask-wearing requirements, which he has sought to loosen.
The opposition accuses the president of delaying the purchase of vaccines for political reasons, as he has consistently played down the severity of the pandemic. The outbreak in Brazil has been fuelled by more transmissible variants of the virus, including the one identified in the Amazon region known as Gamma. An average of 70,000 cases has been confirmed daily in the last week.
The rate of occupancy of intensive care unit beds remains at or above 80% in most states, and experts warn the start of winter in the southern hemisphere, next week could result in more infections."Brazil faces a critical scenario of community transmission... with the possibility of worsening in the coming weeks due to the start of winter," Fiocruz said.
On Twitter, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga expressed solidarity with the "fathers, mothers, friends and relatives" of those who had died, saying: "500,000 lives lost due to the pandemic that affects our Brazil and the whole world."Only the US has reported more deaths related to Covid-19.
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