BMJ | 2021
Covid-19: Brazil breaks record daily death toll as crisis spreads through South America
Abstract
Daily covid-19 deaths in Brazil have doubled since February and90%of the country’s intensive care unit beds are occupied, with mortality increasing, according to the Oswald Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), a research institute attached to Brazil’s Ministry of Health.1 Some regions are reporting shortages of oxygen and anaesthesia. The situation is a “huge catastrophe,” said Maragareth Portela, a senior researcher at Fiocruz.