Over 94,000 Have Died From COVID-19 In This Latin American Nation

BRASILIA, Brazil, Mon. Aug 3, 2020 (Reuters) – The death toll in one Latin American nation surpassed 94,000 Sunday, the second highest now globally.

Brazil recorded 541 deaths from the disease to push the death toll to 94,130, the health ministry said on Sunday. The country also added another 25,800 additional confirmed cases of the novel corona virus to soar pass 2.73 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, according to ministry data.

The news comes as the death toll in Latin America from the novel coronavirus passed 200,000 on Saturday night, a Reuters tally showed, underlining the region’s status as one of the global epicenters of the pandemic that is testing governments to the limit.

Apart from the United States, Brazil and Mexico have racked up more fatalities from the virus than any other country, and together they account for around 70% of the regional death toll.

Both have struggled to balance the need to curb the spread of the virus with restrictive safety measures while trying to reopen their economies, which have been battered by the crisis. Other countries in Latin America are also battling to hold the coronavirus at bay, and the region breached the 200,000 mark after Peru registered another 191 fatalities.

(Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Dan Grebler)