Brazil had, Tuesday, June 2, a record of deaths related to Covid-19 in 24 hours, crossing the milestone of 30,000 dead. A strong progression of the disease which did not prevent the authorities of Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo to initiate deconfinement.

The country deplored an additional 1,262 deaths, the worst daily death toll since May 21 (1,188), the health ministry said.

Brazil, a country of 212 million people, which represents more than half of the cases of coronavirus contamination and deaths in Latin America, recorded 555,383 confirmed cases of Covid-19, after a progression - also strong - 29,000 contaminations in 24 hours.

Covid-19 progress in Rio and Sao Paulo

These figures, which the scientific community believes are grossly undervalued, place Brazil in 4th place in the world for the dead, behind the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy. However, with 146 deaths by million inhabitants, Brazil has a much lower ratio than that of Italy (554) or the United States (more than 300).

The two most affected Brazilian states are Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in the southeast.

In that of Sao Paulo, the evolution of the pandemic is particularly worrying, with the highest figures for both deaths and contaminations in 24 hours since the appearance of the first case of Covid-19 from Brazil in this State, February 26. Economic and cultural locomotive of the country, the State deplored Tuesday evening 7,994 deaths (+ 327) and 118,295 cases (+ 6,999). The mayor of Sao Paulo has extended confinement until June 15, which is not accompanied by any coercive measure.

In the state of Rio de Janeiro, the country's major tourist center, 5,686 deaths have been recorded and more than 56,000 cases of contamination. However Rio has started its deconfinement.

Precipitation precipitated

"The town hall [of Rio] should have waited for the curve to decline, as did the other countries which have started to reduce their restrictions. This is not at all the case in Rio, where the curve remains in full ascent, "Paulo Buss of the Fiocruz research institute told AFP.

In view of the high contamination rates, scientists have judged the start of deconfinement in Brazil to be hasty, a step that no other country has apparently taken while it was still in the ascending phase of the pandemic.

The confinement was the subject of violent confrontations between the governors of the states, which have decision-making power in matters of public health, and a president Jair Bolsonaro urging the population, in an insistent, sometimes provocative, manner to resume work to avoid " hunger and misery "in Brazil. Again on Sunday, the head of state took a crowd bath in Brasilia among his supporters.

With AFP

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