Brazil registers single-day record of 1,641 COVID-19 deaths (March 2nd)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil on Tuesday, March 2nd, posted a single-day record for COVID-19 deaths with 1,641 people dying from the disease, according to Health Ministry data.

That surpassed the previous single-day high of 1,595 COVID-19 deaths recorded in late July 2020, as Brazil faces a new peak in coronavirus cases and the hospital system is pushed to the brink of collapse.

More than 257,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, according to the official count, making it the deadliest outbreak after that of the United States.

Roughly 10.6 million people have been infected since the pandemic began, according to the Health Ministry, with 59,925 new cases reported on Tuesday.

Brazilian state governors said on Tuesday they would join together to buy COVID-19 vaccines and bypass the federal government, which has been slow to roll out its vaccine program.