Brazil surpasses 500,000 Covid-19 deaths amid nationwide protests

Thousands of people took to the streets of Brazil’s cities on Saturday to protest President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic, as the country’s death toll surpassed 500,000 second only to US which has topped 600,000.

Health experts say the outbreak could worsen amid slow vaccination and the start of winter.

According to Our World in Data, a tracking website, the country of over 213 million people has administered 85.39 million vaccine doses.

As per health department, only 15% of the target population is completely immunized with both doses, while 38% took only the first shot.

The number of COVID-19 cases is nearly 18 million. An average of 70,000 cases has been confirmed daily in the last week.

The virus continues to spread as country’s President Jair Bolsonaro refuses to back measures like social distancing.

President Bolsonaro has been heavily criticized for not implementing a coordinated national response and for his skepticism toward anti-Covid jabs, lockdowns and mask-wearing requirements.

The opposition accuses the president of delaying the purchase of vaccines for political reasons, as he has consistently played down the severity of the pandemic.

The health institute Fiocruz says the situation is severely critical.

Meanwhile, congress is investigating the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.