The number of coronavirus deaths in Brazil is nearing 30,000, according to official statistics.
As many as 623 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 29,937. Efforts are underway to determine the causes of another 4,400 deaths, which may be related to the coronavirus.
The country's coronavirus cases have risen by 12,247 to 526,447. Over 211,000 patients have recovered.
Brazil, where the first coronavirus patient was identified on February 26, has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases after the US and the fourth highest death toll after the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy.
Brazil’s Health Ministry said earlier that the situation was likely to stabilize by July, and the infection rate would begin to fall in August.
Coronavirus pandemic
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, including Russia. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.