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Coronavirus pandemic

Brazil clarifies number of coronavirus infections, confirming 2,500 more

According to the latest ministry data, the number of deaths also went up by 296 and not 263 as reported earlier to bring the total to 7,321

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 5. /TASS/. The Brazilian health ministry on Monday evening has specified the coronavirus statistics data, confirming 107,780 infections overall which is 2,558 cases more than what was reported a few hours ago. Therefore, the number of cases reported in the past 24 hours now stands at 6,633, the updated list shows.

According to the latest ministry data, the number of deaths also went up by 296 and not 263 as reported earlier to bring the total to 7,321. Recoveries, meanwhile, reached 45,815.

According to the information of Folha de Sao Paulo daily, the ministry is now planning to update COVID-19 reports twice a day.

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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