SAO PAULO, March 23 (Reuters) – The Brazilian state of São Paulo, the most populous in the country, recorded 1,021 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, a new daily record, state officials said on Tuesday.
The death toll in São Paulo is a worrying sign that the total death toll in Brazil on the day, which will only be released on Tuesday night, could also be a new record.
In São Paulo, the highest previous number of daily deaths was 679 last Tuesday.
The increase in the number of deaths from COVID-19 in São Paulo occurs at a time when Brazil has become the latest epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with crowded hospitals and a lack of oxygen and medication in many cities.
Brazil, with a population of 211 million, has recorded about 12 million cases of COVID-19 and 295,425 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
(Reporting by Eduardo Simões, written by Carolina Mandl, edited by Alexandra Hudson)
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