Brazil passed one million coronavirus cases and approached 50,000 deaths in a new nadir for the world’s second-worst-hit country.
The country’s health ministry reported 1,032,913 confirmed cases on Friday, with 1,206 new deaths that took the total official death toll to 48,954.
Friday also saw a new record daily number of cases, with 54,771 infections, a jump the health ministry said was largely due to “instability” in its reporting system, which meant some states were reporting figures from multiple days.
Brazil is likely to surpass 50,000 deaths on Saturday, although weekend reporting can be lower.
Beijing reports further drop in new cases
China’s capital recorded a further drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases as tightened measures to contain the spread remain in place.
Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing, along with five others elsewhere in the country. No new deaths were reported and 308 people remain hospitalised for treatment for COVID-19.
One of the Beijing cases is a nurse at a hospital in the suburban Changping district. The Peking University International Hospital where she worked is now under tightened restrictions, along with residential communities in the surrounding area.
A total of 205 people have been diagnosed with the virus in Beijing since the outbreak began last week, with at least two of them critically ill and 11 others in serious condition.
South Korea logs biggest daily rise in three weeks
South Korea reported its largest 24-hour increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in about three weeks amid an uptick in imported cases.
Officials said the 67 additional cases raise the country’s total to 12,373, with 280 deaths.The new figure is the largest daily increase since South Korea reported 79 cases on May 28.
Officials say 31 of the new cases came from outside the country and the other 36 were locally transmitted.
