Brazil passed the milestone of 700,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Tuesday March 28, three years after the first death from the pandemic, which would make the Latin American country the second most grieving state in the world, the Health Ministry announced.
The first death in Brazil, that of a fifty-year-old from São Paulo (Southeast), occurred on March 12, 2020, marking the beginning of a long health crisis that would engulf hospitals, morgues and cemeteries in the country. Only the United States has recorded an even worse tally, with 1.1 million deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The epidemic has claimed the lives of at least 6.8 million people worldwide.
A flu”
The management of the Covid crisis in Brazil has been marked by numerous controversies, particularly between academic circles and former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. He has long said the Covid is a “flu”, advocated ineffective treatments and opposed vaccination. He refused to restrict populations in the name of preserving Latin America’s first economy, while multiplying mass baths, mostly without a mask.
His successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called Bolsonaro a “genocide” and advocated the use of the vaccine, of which he himself received a 5th dose in front of the camera last February. “The vaccine, which is available free of charge in all health units, could have transformed the lives of families who lost loved ones during the pandemic,” the health ministry said in a press release.