The country's death toll has gotten so bad that it has now surpassed the daily death toll in the United States. On the day the country's COVID-19 fatalities breached the 25,000 mark, 1,039 people have died from the disease. On the same day, there were only 592 coronavirus-related deaths in America.
However, experts believe the country may have more deaths, as the lack of any mass testing initiatives has obscured the true number of coronavirus-related fatalities. One study, conducted by the medical school of the University of Sao Paulo, even suggests that the actual number of infections could be around 15 times higher than the country's official count. Other experts are even warning that the country's death toll could quintuple by August.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned that, while the spread of the coronavirus is slowing down in many countries, it is still accelerating in Brazil and other South and Central American countries, such as Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Chile.
“Our region has become the epicenter of the pandemic,” said Carissa Etienne, WHO director for the Americas and head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Listen to the Health Ranger Report by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how countries need to provide their citizens with zinc supplements to put a stop to the coronavirus and end lockdowns.
Bolsonaro continues to ignore coronavirus outbreak
Even as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc upon Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro continues to consider it as nothing more than a “little flu.” When he was asked last month about the mounting death tolls, he shrugged off questions by responding “What do you want me to do? I'm not a miracle worker.” (Related: Brazil becomes new global coronavirus hotspot, but Bolsonaro doesn't even mention it in cabinet meeting.)
Bolsonaro's actions also alienated him from many of the country's politicians. Any effort done by state and local governments is met with criticism. Bolsonaro has even derided officials who have put in place quarantine and shelter-in-place measures.
“With the example of the president of Brazil, everything is more difficult for us,” said Gov. Joao Doria of Sao Paulo. “He goes to the streets without masks. A wrong behavior and wrong indication. This is very sad for Brazil and makes everything more difficult for the governors in the states of Brazil.”
In fact, Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus is so terrible that some political analysts believe that he could be the first world leader to be toppled because of the pandemic. One think tank based in Rio de Janeiro believes that Bolsonaro could be ousted through impeachment, convicted by the country's supreme court or barred from participating in the next election due to his actions during the previous election.
Still, despite the mounting death toll, Bolsonaro continues to deflect all responsibility for the crisis on the media, mayors, governors and even the resignation of a health minister two weeks ago.
Even as the U.S. imposes a travel ban on Brazil because of how widespread COVID-19 has become, Bolsonaro's government continues calling people who want him to take the pandemic seriously "hysterical." The president himself has gone so far as to participate in rallies with supporters.
Bolsonaro may not be listening to health experts and officials, but perhaps he would listen to public opinion. One poll, taken between May 17 to 18, found that 58 percent of those surveyed rated Bolsonaro's response to the pandemic as "bad" or "terrible," and only 21 percent rated it as "good" or "excellent." In both counts, Brazilian governors fared more than twice as well.
Pandemic.news has more stories on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in Brazil and in the rest of the world.
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