Brazil recorded 2,841 deaths of COVID-19 patients in 24 hours on Tuesday, a new tragic record in a country where the new coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen.
The previous record was set on March 10, when 2,286 deaths were reported, according to Health Ministry figures.
In all, the giant state of 212 million people has so far recorded 282,127 deaths due to COVID-19, the second heaviest death toll in the world, behind only the US.
The figures confirm the accelerating rise in deaths since early February, averaging 1,965 per 24 hours over the past seven days. At the beginning of the year, this macabre average was 703 deaths per 24 hours.
The Ministry of Health informed that during the same period, 83,926 cases of SARS-CoV-2 were diagnosed, the second highest number since the outbreak of the pandemic in the territory of Brazil in February 2020, with the total number of confirmed infections reaching 11,603,535.
The far-right president Zaich Bolsonaro, who manages the health crisis that 61% of Brazilians disapprove of, announced Monday that he would change the health minister for the third time since the pandemic.
He will dismiss the confidant of Eduardo Pazuelo, a general without the slightest experience in medical matters, and will replace him with Marcelo Keiroga, a cardiologist who enjoys respect among his colleagues.
Bolsonaro, moreover, seemed to recognize the importance of the immunization campaign, which had hitherto degraded him when he did not question it. On the contrary, he did not change in the slightest his rhetoric, his openly hostile attitude towards the application of restrictive measures.
The immunization campaign in Brazil began only in mid-January, using only the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Chinese Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine, and continues at a slow pace due to lack of doses, amid strong criticism.
On Monday, the government announced it had ordered 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 38 million doses of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine to speed up vaccination.
Lebanon: 52 deaths, almost 3,500 cases in 24 hours
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that 3,480 cases of SARS-CoV-2 had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of people infected with the new coronavirus in the country to 423,433.
At the same time, the deaths of another 52 patients with COVID-19 have increased the death toll from the pandemic to 5,474 dead so far in the crisis-ridden Arab country.
Tunisia: 25 deaths and 549 cases in 24 hours
The Tunisian Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that 25 deaths of COVID-19 patients had been reported in the past 24 hours, while 549 cases of SARS-CoV-2 had been confirmed.
The toll of the new coronavirus pandemic in the Arab country has so far reached 8,429 dead out of a total of 242,673 infections, according to official data.
The number of patients admitted to hospitals is 1,037, of which 276 are in intensive care units (ICU).

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