Brazil goes past UK as death toll hits 41,828

BRAZIL has recorded 41,828 deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, surpassing the UK’s death toll, according to data.

The hardest-hit Latin American nation reported 909 deaths on Friday, with more than 828,000 confirmed cases.

The country now has the secondhighest death toll from Covid-19 behind the US, figures from Johns Hopkins University show.

It came as India reported another record daily spike in infections to pass the grim milestone of 300,000 cases.

Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, is to free up space at its graveyards by digging up the bones of people buried in the past and storing their bagged remains in large metal containers.

The remains of people who died at least three years ago will be exhumed and put in numbered bags, then stored temporarily in 12 storage containers the city’s funeral service has purchased.

The containers will be delivered to several cemeteries within 15 days, a statement said.

Sao Paulo is one of the Covid-19 hot spots, with 5,480 deaths as of Thursday in a city of 12 million people.

Health experts are worried about a new surge after a decline in intensive care bed occupancy to about 70% prompted mayor Bruno Covas to authorise a partial reopening of business this week.

The peak of infection is predicted to hit Brazil in August, having spread from big cities into the nation’s interior.

In India, the Health Ministry reported 11,458 new cases on Saturday and 386 deaths, driving the toll of fatalities up to 8,884.

India’s total caseload reached 308,993, the four-highest in the world, including more than 150,000 recoveries.

The government of prime minister Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown in late March. India’s caseload jumped by about 100,000 cases in a week, which coincided with the reopening of shopping centres, houses of worship and restaurants.

Meanwhile, the largest wholesale food market in Beijing was closed behind police guard and the surrounding neighbourhood locked down on Saturday after more than 50 people tested positive in the Chinese capital.

The outbreak came more than 50 days after the last local case in the city of 20 million people.

Authorities locked down 11 residential communities near the Xinfadi market, and police installed fencing to seal off a road leading to a cluster of apartment buildings.