Health

Brazil reports highest 1-day coronavirus death toll

Rio de Janeiro, May 8 (EFE).- The number of Covid-19 deaths in Brazil climbed by a record 751 overnight to bring the total to 9,897, while confirmed cases increased by 10,222 to 145,328, the health ministry said Friday.Brazil, where far-right President Jair Bolsonaro continues to minimize the danger from the disease, suffered its worst day so far since the pandemic reached the giant Latin American country.The worst-hit region of Brazil is Sao Paulo state, with nearly 42,000 infections and approaching 3,500 deaths. Next is Rio de Janeiro state, which has lost more than 1,500 lives to the coronavirus.But the crisis appears to be most acute in Amazonas state, whose hospitals have collapsed due to an infection rate of 2,588 cases for every 1 million residents.Sao Paulo state, which began restricting movement and activity on March 24, had been planning for a gradual re-opening of the economy prior to Gov. Joao Doria's decision Friday to keep quarantine measures in place until the end of May.His counterpart in Rio state, Wilson Witzel, has asked the Attorney General's Office to review a proposal for a much-stricter lockdown. (Camera: ANTONIO LACERDA). SHOT LIST: AN AERIAL VIEW OF A BURIAL SITE FOR COVID-19 VICITMS IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL.