Brazil's COVID-19 death toll tops 222,000

Brazil reported on Friday 1,119 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking its death toll to 222,666, the Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, 59,826 new cases of COVID-19 were detected, bringing its nationwide tally to 9,118,513.

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populated in the country, is the hardest hit, with 1,759,957 cases and 52,722 deaths, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 516,868 cases and 29,563 deaths.

Brazil has the world's second-highest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States.

Specialists fear that a new variant of the virus detected in the northern state of Amazonas will spread to other regions.

Due to the new mutation, several countries have banned flights to Brazil, including Britain, Portugal, Italy, Colombia, Turkey, Peru and Israel. (/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )