GENEVA (Reuters) – Hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19 have started declining after four weeks of slowing infections in Brazil, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
“Cases have now declined for four weeks in a row, and hospitalisations and deaths are also declining. This is good news and we hope this trend continues,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing.
Still, he described a severe situation in the country, which this week became the second to pass 400,000 COVID-19 deaths after the United States.
“Since the beginning of November, Brazil has experienced an acute crisis, with increasing COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths, including among younger people. During April, intensive care units have been at almost full capacity across the country,” he said.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Michael Shields, Emma Farge and Eduardo Simoes; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Alison Williams)
