Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, right, insists on a return to normalcy to prevent economic collapse. Getty Images
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, right, insists on a return to normalcy to prevent economic collapse. Getty Images
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, right, insists on a return to normalcy to prevent economic collapse. Getty Images
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, right, insists on a return to normalcy to prevent economic collapse. Getty Images

Brazil's virus death toll passes 150,000


  • English
  • Arabic

Brazil on Saturday passed 150,000 deaths from Covid-19, the Health Ministry said, but the rate of infection continues to slow.

The toll was reported on the same day that Latin America and the Caribbean marked 10 million cases and more than 360,000 deaths.

The region is the worst-hit in terms of fatalities, official figures show.

Brazil, which has a population of about 212 million, has had most of the region's deaths.

On Sunday, it reported an overall coronavirus death toll of 150,338 and 5,095,586 infections, the ministry said.

It is the second highest death toll in the world, after the US, which has recorded more than 219,000 fatalities, and the third highest number of infections after the US and India.

In Latin America, Brazil is followed by Colombia, with more than 900,000 cases and about 27,660 deaths; Argentina, with about 884,000 cases and more than 23,500 deaths; and Peru, with more than 846,000 cases and about 33,000 deaths.

Mexico, although it has fewer cases at about 814,000, has the fourth highest number of deaths, with the toll increasing to 83,642 on Sunday.

Brazil's tally has been falling slowly since it hit a plateau in summer, when it reported an average of about 1,000 deaths a day for two months.

But experts say the decline is slow compared with countries in Europe and Asia, suggesting Brazil may still be in its first wave.

"It's like coming down from the Himalayas to the Alps, that is, you're still on a mountain," said Jose David Urbaez, a researcher with the Brazilian Society of Infectious diseases.

Even so, with more therapeutics available and awareness growing, health experts say the system is coping far better than it was.

"I don't know if the worst is over because we don't know what's coming, but we've certainly had worse moments than this," said Jaques Sztajnbok, head of intensive care at the Emilio Ribas Institute in Sao Paulo, the state with the highest number of Covid-19 deaths.

From the start, Brazil's leaders were divided over how to combat the pandemic.

President Jair Bolsonaro played down the disease from the start, despite catching it, and insists on a return to normality to stop economic collapse.

But state governors and mayors applied social distancing measures at the start of the crisis, although with the pandemic hitting the economy they have begun to loosen restrictions in recent months.

"I think we are becoming numb with this situation," said Caio Gomes, a student in Rio de Janeiro. "We hear so many bad things that we end up getting used to it.

Since the outbreak began in China late last year, the virus has killed more than 1.08 million people worldwide, infected more than 37.6 million and forced millions more out of work as the pandemic battered the global economy.

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

The biog

Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha

Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Holiday destination: Sri Lanka

First car: VW Golf

Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters

Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2019 Haval H6

Price, base: Dh69,900

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S

Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000

Engine: 3.0-litre V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm

Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km

Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil