Brazil becomes second country to hit 1 million COVID-cases

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) –   Brazil has become the second country in the world to confirm more than one million cases of Covid-19, as the disease continues to spread.

The health ministry also posted a record number of new cases in the past 24 hours – more than 54,000.

In addition, there were more than 1,200 deaths for the fourth consecutive day, taking the total to nearly 49,000.

A lack of testing suggests the true figures are higher and experts say the outbreak is weeks away from its peak.

The new figure was revealed hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the coronavirus pandemic was entering a “new and dangerous” phase, with its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warning that cases were rising at the same time as people are growing weary of lockdowns and governments are seeking to restart their economies.