Brazil coronavirus cases overtake Spain and Italy to become 4th worst in world… but official stats ‘just tip of iceberg’
BRAZIL has overtaken Spain and Italy's total confirmed coronavirus cases to become the fourth worst hit country in the world.
The disease is sweeping through cities and filling mass graves after the country's president dismissed it as "light flu" and denied the need for urgent action.
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Brazil’s Health Ministry announced 14,919 new positive tests on Saturday and another 7,938 on Sunday, taking the total to 241,080.
Spain has 230,698 confirmed cases and Italy has 225,435.
Only the US (1,528,179), Russia (290,678) and the UK (243,695) have higher totals.
But experts said it could be only the tip of the iceberg as testing lags far behind other nations.
Brazil had processed only 338,000 tests by last week with another 145,000 under analysis - compared with almost two million each in Spain and Italy.
Domingo Alves from the University of São Paulo Medical School estimates the real number of infections is 15 times the official figure.
BODY COUNT
The death toll in Brazil rose by 816 in a day bringing the total to 15,633 - the world's sixth-highest figure after the US, UK, Italy, France and Spain.
It has become the world's new Covid-19 hot spot as health services are stretched to breaking point.
Yesterday shocking pictures showed a man lying dead on the street in Rio de Janeiro.
Residents of the Arara community said they called for help when Valnir Mendes da Silva, 62, suffered breathing problems.
But he collapsed on a pavement and it was around 30 hours before workers came to remove the body.
One of the worst hit areas is Sao Paulo, where 3,000 people have already died after the virus spread from wealthy neighbourhoods to ravage the slums.
Mayor Bruno Covas warned the city's public hospitals are "close to collapse" and could soon run out of space.
Two giant cold storage hangars have been installed at Vila Formasa outside the city, the largest cemetery in Latin America.
Thousands of graves have been dug as it prepares to bury 400 people a day starting this week.
Another place suffering is Manaus in Amazonas state, where mayor Virgilio Neto described bodies piling up like “a scene out of a horror movie”.
The city has had to bury victims in mass graves, and there are fears the virus is devastating indigenous tribes in the Amazon jungle.
COVID DENIER
President Jair Bolsonaro has faced fierce criticism at home and abroad for his handling of the crisis, and his former allies have turned on him.
Regional governors and mayors demand quarantine and social isolation measures such as closing shops and restaurants, but the president is opposed to any such restrictions.
He has encouraged Brazilians to ignore the lockdowns that have been imposed locally, leading to widespread flouting of rules with beaches still packed.
Last week the health minister quit in protest at Bolsonaro's stance of putting the economy before efforts to tackle coronavirus.
Nelson Teich had only been in the job a month after Bolsonaro sacked his predecessor following a disagreement.
The president hit back on Twitter: “Unemployment, hunger and misery will be the future of those who support the tyranny of total isolation.”
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Despite uproar, Bolsonaro joined a demo against lockdown measures yesterday in Brasilia where he greeted fans and embraced babies and children.
His supporters blockaded a major road, claiming China is to blame for the outbreak in South America.
Bolsonaro has previously downplayed Covid-19 as "a little flu" and has said the spread is inevitable.
Medical journal The Lancet published an editorial earlier this month labelling Bolsonaro “the biggest threat” to Brazil’s efforts to fight the pandemic.