Global coronavirus cases surpassed 5 million on Wednesday, with Latin America overtaking the United States and Europe in the past week to report the largest portion of new daily cases globally.
Brazil recorded 674 new deaths and 13,140 new cases from the novel coronavirus, making it the third country with the most cases in the world. The country surpasses the United Kingdom–254,220 in all–against 244,995 of the British. The total number of deaths in Brazil is 16,792.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday declared gyms and hair salons as essential services that can stay open through the new coronavirus outbreak, easing measures to control the disease despite new cases and deaths surging in the country.
The governor of Sao Paulo, the Brazilian state at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America, said on Friday he was extending stay-at-home measures until May 31, ignoring opposition from far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday withdrew the name of a family friend he had picked to run the federal police after a Supreme Court justice blocked an appointment that opponents said would allow him inappropriate influence over law enforcement.
Brazilian industrial confidence crashed to its lowest level on record in April, a survey showed as the lockdowns and sudden halt to swathes of activity lashed Latin America’s largest economy.
General Motors Co plans to keep its Brazilian factories shut down for at least 60 more days due to the coronavirus crisis, the company said on Thursday, as the final batch of unionized workers voted on the automaker's proposal.
The US ambassador to Brazil on Tuesday denied reports that the US government took over Chinese supplies of medical equipment that were ordered by Brazil to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
China demanded an explanation from Brazil on Monday after the conservative government’s education minister linked the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to the Asian country’s “plan for world domination,” in a tweet imitating a Chinese accent.
An indigenous woman in a village deep in the Amazon rainforest has contracted the novel coronavirus, the first case reported among Brazil's more than 300 tribes, the Health Ministry's indigenous health service Sesai said on Wednesday