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Coronavirus pandemic

Brazil reports more than 4,000 new coronavirus cases in past 24 hours

The number of coronavirus-related fatalities also went up by 263, bringing the total to 7,288

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 5. /TASS/. The number of coronavirus cases in Brazil has increased by 4,075 in the past 24 hours to reach 105,222, the national health ministry said Monday.

According to the latest report, the number of coronavirus-related fatalities also went up by 263, bringing the total to 7,288, while 42,991 patients recovered.

The state of Sao Paulo is the epicenter of the outbreak in the country as well as its capital of Sao Paulo where more than 21 million people live (agglomeration). The region has more than 32,000 infections and over 2,600 fatalities due to coronavirus. Sao Paulo is followed by the state of Rio de Janeiro (more than 11,000 cases and 1,000 deaths). A lot of other states across the country also report grim figures.

The first coronavirus case in Brazil was confirmed on February 26 in Sao Paulo. The health ministry earlier forecast that the situation in the country will have stabilized by July, while the rates of infections will begin to slow down in August to start subsiding in September.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 3,500,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 250,000 deaths have been reported.

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