Brazil sees second highest daily COVID-19 death toll since mid-August

Brazil on Wednesday reported more 1,340 deaths from COVID-19 in a day, the second highest daily count since Aug. 19, the Health Ministry said.

The highest single-day death toll was 1,524, registered on Jan. 7, it said.

The latest fatalities brought the nationwide death toll to 212,831, the second-highest in the world, following the United States.

In the last 24 hours, tests detected 64,385 new cases of COVID-19 infection, bringing the national tally to 8,638,249, the world's third-largest caseload, after the United States and India.

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populated in the country, is the most affected with 1,658,636 cases and 50,652 deaths, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 490,821 cases and 28,215 deaths.

The country is currently facing a second wave of outbreaks that has resulted in an increase in cases and deaths since December.

Brazil launched vaccination campaign against COVID-19 on Monday after the national health regulatory agency authorized on Sunday the emergency use of CoronaVac, a vaccine manufactured by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac in conjunction with the Sao Paulo-based Butantan Institute, and a vaccine developed by British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

TV BRICS reports with reference to Xinhua News Agency.