Brazil Hits 300,000 COVID-19 Deaths, Bolsonaro Under Scrutiny

As the spike in infections continues in the South American country, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is now uneasy as his country has reached 300,000 COVID-19 deaths, becoming the second country to report the said grim mark.

The health ministry of Brazil reported 2,009 daily COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, which brought its country's pandemic total to 300,685. This mark was reached by the United States on December 14, 2020, but in terms of both countries' population, it is a high number for Brazil. A day before Brazil reached the grim milestone, the country saw a single-day record of 3,251 deaths.

According to Aljazeera, the reports of local media in the country have mentioned that the latest COVID-19 figures of Brazil might be affected by changes in the counting system of the government. Marcelo Queiroga, the newly appointed Health Minister of Brazil stated during a news conference that he was going to check if the numbers had been purposely reduced.

Daily Death Toll Peaks

Moreover, the daily death toll in the country has been at its highest since the pandemic started, which put state governors and mayors in Brazil in fear that the upcoming month of April could be as bad as this month of March, which overwhelmed medical facilities.

In the first quarter of 2021 alone, Brazil has added 100,000 COVID-19 deaths to its record, prompting health experts to blame Bolsonaro for his decisions and the lack of political coordination in battling against the virus. Aside from government lapses, experts also pointed out the new variants, which spread more easily, and a disregard in health protocols as additional factors for the massive increase in the death toll.

In addition, the Brazilian President has consistently downplayed the severity of the ongoing pandemic, as he insisted that the economy must be kept open in order to avoid further hardship for the country. He even criticized the health measures imposed by local leaders and call them 'tyrants' for imposing lockdown, Bloomberg reported.

More Serious Approach

In recent weeks, Bolsonaro has shown signs of taking the pandemic more seriously. It is not only due to the alarming number of COVID-19 deaths but also to the return of his rival in politics, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Silva was recently proven not guilty after facing corruption convictions, which put him on the candidates in the Presidential election next year.

The Brazilian President gave a televised address on Tuesday wherein he defended his way of handling the pandemic and promised for additional vaccines to be delivered for his people. But his promises were jeered by protests around Brazil.

After the country reached the 300,000 COVID-19 death mark, he stated on Wednesday that the national government will be seeking more coordination with state governors as they have scheduled weekly meetings in order to discuss the most effective measure to be used in fighting coronavirus in a newly launched committee, Pharmaceutical Technology reported.

Meanwhile, during the first news conference of Marcelo Queiroga as the health minister of the country, he said that the government aims to expedite the inoculation drive and promised to deliver additional 1 million shots a day. But the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) sent a warning on Tuesday that the country is in a dire situation as cases and deaths are increasing while bed occupancy is very high in the majority of states.

WATCH: Brazil's Bolsonaro under pressure as COVID deaths surpass 300,000 - Al Jazeera English

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