By Pedro Fonseca, RIO DE JANEIRO Brazil
Brazil’s daily death toll from the new coronavirus jumped
to a record 1,179 on Tuesday as President Jair Bolsonaro doubled down on
chloroquine as a possible remedy and U.S. leader Donald Trump said he is
considering a travel ban from Brazil.
The highest
daily toll before Tuesday had been 881 deaths on May 12. The pandemic has killed
at least 17,971 people in Brazil, according to the Health Ministry.
Brazil
overtook Britain on Monday to become the country with the third-highest number
of confirmed infections, behind Russia and the United States. Brazil’s
confirmed cases also jumped by a record 17,408 on Tuesday, for a total of
271,628 people who have tested positive for the virus.
Bolsonaro,
an ideological ally of Trump, has been criticized for his handling of the
outbreak, such as opposition to restrictions on movement he sees as too
damaging to the economy.
Bolsonaro
said Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines on
Wednesday expanding the recommended use of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine
to treat the coronavirus.
Two trained doctors have resigned as Health Minister in the past month as Bolsonaro defies public health expert advice.
Trump, who
announced on Monday he was taking chloroquine preventively, told reporters on
Tuesday: “I don’t want people coming over here and infecting our people. I
don’t want people over there sick either. We’re helping Brazil with ventilators
... Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it.”
Pan American
Health Organization officials said in a virtual briefing they were concerned
about the virus’ spread in the tri-border area of the Amazon between Colombia,
Peru and Brazil. They urged special measures to protect vulnerable populations
among the indigenous, poor and racial minorities. - Reuters
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