BRASILIA, July 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 57,736 to 19,209,729 within the past 24 hours, the national Ministry of Health said on late Wednesday.
According to the ministry, the death toll has risen by 1,556 to 537,394 people within the same period of time.
More than 17.85 million patients have recovered since the start of the outbreak.
A day earlier, the country confirmed record 45,022 new coronavirus cases, with 1,605 fatalities.
Brazil currently has the world’s second-highest pandemic death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload, after the United States and India.
The South American country, which is experiencing a new wave of infections with hospitals overwhelmed by patients, has a mortality rate of 255 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, said the ministry.
As of Monday, 115.5 million people in Brazil have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and over 30.9 million people have been fully vaccinated.
Hospital admissions and deaths due to COVID-19 have declined in Brazil thanks to progress in vaccination against the virus, Brazil’s Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) said on Wednesday.
In its weekly bulletin on the pandemic, the federally-funded medical research facility said that for the first time since December, no Brazilian state has reported intensive care units (ICUs) with over 90 percent occupancy.
However, four states are in the “critical alert zone,” with more than 80 percent ICU occupancy, including Santa Catarina (82 percent), Goias and Parana (at 81 percent occupancy each), and the Federal District (80 percent).
Most of Brazil is in the “medium alert zone,” with ICU occupancy rates of 60 to 80 percent, while seven states are on low alert, with occupancy of less than 60 percent, including Acre, which has just 24 percent occupancy.
“Vaccines are especially effective in preventing serious cases,” said Fiocruz, urging continued social distancing, use of masks and hygiene measures, and calling on the entire population to get vaccinated.
“The possibility of the emergence of variants with the potential to reduce the effectiveness of available vaccines is pertinent and cannot be overlooked,” it added. — NNN-AGENCIES
