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Brazil Becomes 2nd Nation to Pass 100,000 Pandemic Deaths

VOA News

   Brazil on Saturday became the second country in the world to pass
   100,000 deaths from the coronavirus, second to the United States, which
   has more than 161,000 deaths and is nearing a different milestone of
   its own: nearly 5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. Brazil
   reported 3 million cases, also on Saturday.

   Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, said Thursday he had "a clear
   conscience" despite the toll. Bolsonaro himself survived COVID-19 last
   month and said he had done "everything possible to save lives." Because
   of insufficient tests, experts say, the number of Brazilians with the
   virus could be six times higher.

   Brazil has registered more than 1,000 deaths a day for several weeks,
   something the U.S. has suffered for more than 11 days. Brazil and the
   U.S. have similar numbers of deaths per 1 million residents, 478 for
   Brazil, 487 for the U.S. Both are lower than Spain and Italy, which are
   609 and 583 respectively.

   The pandemic has had an uneven effect across Brazil's 27 states. In
   Brasilia, the capital, almost 80 percent of the ICU beds are full, but
   in Rio De Janeiro, the occupation rate is less than 30 percent. In Rio,
   the stores and restaurants are open and the beaches are in use.

   "The situation is very comfortable, and we don't understand why it is
   happening," said Graccho Alvim, director of the state's association of
   hospitals, according to the Associated Press.

   In the U.S., the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation released a
   model Thursday predicting nearly 300,000 deaths by December 1 if
   Americans don't start consistently wearing face masks.

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