With 41,828 deaths recorded since the start of the epidemic, Brazil has surpassed the United Kingdom in the number of deaths from the coronavirus. The largest country in Latin America, a giant of 212 million inhabitants, is also the second in the world in terms of the number of infections recorded. It is followed by the United States, which has 828,810 cases.

"The situation in Brazil is worrying, all states are affected," said Mike Ryan, director of health emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO), on Friday. 

"The health system is not completely saturated, but in some regions there is a strong pressure on the occupation of intensive care beds," he added.

>> Read also: Latin America out of breath in the fight against Covid-19

Also in Latin America, the new epicenter of the pandemic, Mexico and Chile recorded their worst daily figures on Friday. Mexico has totaled more than 15,000 deaths since the start of the epidemic and Chile 2,870.

And in Honduras, Professor Marco Tulio Medina, of the National University, stressed that the country's hospital system was "on the brink of collapse".

"Even in my worst nightmares, I never thought I was going through this," said director of the Cardiovascular Hospital, Nora Maradiaga, in an interview with local TV channel HCH. Sixty-nine patients with coronavirus admitted to his establishment have already died there.

Sharp rise in cases in the United States and South Africa

After reaching a plateau in the United States, where there are more than 114,000 deaths, several states where activity resumed in April recorded an influx of new patients. The possibility of a second wave of contamination is causing concern. 

However, "we cannot close the economy again," warned US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Same scenario in South Africa where the number of new cases jumped more than 10,000 in one day, reaching nearly 62,000 Friday, a week after the release of containment.

A new home in China

The fear of a new wave of contaminations arises all the more since the Chinese authorities on Saturday ordered the emergency confinement of eleven districts of Beijing, after the appearance of a new outbreak of coronavirus. 

Meanwhile, Russia reported 8,706 new infections with the new coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total to 520,129 cases since the start of the epidemic.

According to the Russian authorities, 114 people died as a result of Covid-19 in the space of 24 hours for a total of 6,829 deaths.

With AFP

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