BRAZIL TOLL THIRD-HIGHEST IN WORLD NOW

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic surpassed Italy’s to become the third-highest in the world, as the number of fatalities worldwide inched towards 400,000.

Brazil reported a new 24-hour record death toll, bringing the total number killed to more than 34,000. That is behind only the US, with more than 110,000 deaths, and Britain, with over 40,200.

Brazil is the hardest-hit country in Latin America, though the tolls are also rising sharply in

Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Chile.

Mexico reported a record number of new infections for the second straight day, with 4,442.

In Peru, residents lined up to buy oxygen tanks for their loved ones, as the government declared oxygen a “strategic health resource” amid a shortage.

UK’S TOLL TOPS 40,000; MASKS COMPULSORY

LONDON: Face coverings will be compulsory for passengers on buses, trains, aircraft and ferries in England from June 15, the UK’s transport secretary Grant Shapps said even as the death toll went past 40,000. “As of Monday, June 15, face coverings will become mandatory on public transport,” he announced.

NYC RECORDS ZERO CONFIRMED DEATHS

NEW YORK CITY: New York City’s health department produced data on Thursday showing no new single-day deaths of virus-carriers.

Three deaths probably attributable to Covid-19 occurred in untested patients, the department reported. It was a far cry from a week in mid-April when the city recorded about 700 deaths a day.