Brazil to face another dark week as coronavirus case upsurges

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Brazil is to embark on a grim week as COVID-19 cases reach another milestone in the country.
• Amidst the coronavirus outbreak, Brazil President, Jair Bolsonaro was seen having snacks on the street and in several instances, joining protesters against lockdown measures.
• Currently, there are around 11,687 latest COVID-19 cases listed, with total infections more than 374,800.

Brazil seems to be facing another dark coronavirus week as the infection rises in the country by the thousands, and a storm of criticisms hits President Jair Bolsonaro.

The Ministry of Health on Monday confirmed that around 11,687 new cases of COVID-19 had been recorded the last day, adding up to the total number of infections exceeding 374,800.

As of date, over 23,400 Brazilian lives have been claimed by the coronavirus.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, Brazil’s Saturday COVID-19 figure has surpassed Russia’s statistics. The nation is now just behind the United States in terms of the most confirmed cases of a country.

It was reported that the night before, President Bolsonaro, with his security detail, left Brasilia’s presidential palace and stopped by a hot dog cart. Brazil’s local news outlets recorded the scene of their leader having snacks, and residents could be heard shouting words such as “killer” and ” trash” while beating pans and pots.

At one instance, the President was seen twitching his finger at the group of people.

Bolsonaro has consistently received backlash over his downplaying of  COVID-19 despite the rising number of virus cases in Brazil. His crisis mishandling has reportedly resulted in the resignation of one health ministers, and sacking of another due to differences in outbreak response.

In his defense, Bolsonaro has always raised concerns over the effects of the virus on the economy. He has vocal about his objections over coronavirus restrictions enforced by the local governments in most infected areas in Brazil.

Some citizens agree with the President, and on Sunday, groups of people rallied outside Planalto Presidential Palace in Brasilia against lockdown orders, which usually happens almost every week.

In several instances, Bolsonaro even joins the protesters without wearing any personal protection like a face mask.

Nevertheless, critics have slammed Bolsonaro’s actions, including  Manaus Mayor Arthur Virgilio Neto, who told CNN on Sunday that the President was partly to blame for the country’s COVID-19 casualties.

Neto also called for the resignation of Bolsonaro.

A city with a population of around 2 million, Manaus was severely infected by the bug with no less than 13,000 recorded cases and 1,182 coronavirus related deaths.

Health experts have been worried about the upsurge of Brazil’s cases, including the other Latin American nations, including Mexico, Chile, and Peru.

On Friday, former assistant director-general for health security with the World Health Organization for health security Dr. Keiji Fukuda told Alisyn Camerota of CNN that the current situation is beyond control, especially to the more deprived places in the world.

Source: CNN