Brazil's COVID-19 death toll tops 395,000

Brazil's death toll reached 395,022 on Tuesday after 3,086 more people died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said.

The ministry said that tests detected 72,140 new cases, raising the national count to 14,441,563.

Given current daily fatalities, the nationwide death toll is likely to reach 400,000 by the end of April.

Dimas Covas, the head of the Sao Paulo-based Butantan Institute, a state-run medical research facility, warned that May "will be very tough" in terms of COVID-19 deaths and infections despite progress in vaccination.

According to the ministry, pregnant women and those who have just given birth will be given priority by the National Immunization Program.

Media reports based on data from state health secretariats show 29,554,723 people have received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, while 13,127,599 have received both doses. (/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )