Brazil to exceed 1 million COVID-19 cases as virus rages [View all]

Brazil was on track to surpass 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, second only to the United States, with total deaths fast approaching 50,000 as the country struggles with a tense political climate and worsening economic outlook.

It has spread relentlessly across the continent-sized country, eroding support for right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and raising fears of economic collapse after years of anemic growth.

The true extent of the outbreak in Brazil far exceeds official figures released after 6 p.m. (2100 GMT) on most evenings, according to many experts, who cite a lack of widespread testing in the country as a factor adding to many uncertainties about the disease.

“That number of 1 million is much less than the real number of people who have been infected, because there is under-reporting of a magnitude of five to ten times,” said Alexandre Naime Barbosa, a medical professor at the São Paulo State University.

“The true number is probably at least 3 million and could even be as high as 10 million people.”

At: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil-idUSKBN23Q35R

São Paulo pedestrians throng a downtown shopping area on June 10th as the city re-opened amid the ongoing pandemic - partly due to pressure from President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil's new daily Covid-19 cases have exceeded the United States' for 15 of the last 23 days - despite testing rates of roughly one eighth that of the U.S.