President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday (29) that he regrets the mounting deaths in Brazil—474 recorded in 24 hours—but said there is nothing he can do.
"So what? I'm sorry. What do you want me to do? I'm a Messiah, but I don't do a miracle," he said when asked about the numbers.
Bolsonaro said that it is up to Health Minister Nelson Teich to explain the numbers, which surpassed China in the total number of deaths from the new coronavirus.
Brazil's previous daily record was April 23, with 407 new victims. The country is now the 9th country with the most deaths in the world. According to the most recent bulletin from the Ministry of Health, a total of 5,017 people died from Covid-19. China, for its part, reports 4,637 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The first coronavirus death in China (and worldwide) was confirmed on January 11. In Brazil, the first confirmed death occurred on March 17. The country has 71,886 confirmed cases and is in 11th place, still behind China, which has 83,938 cases.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon