SAO PAULO – Brazil topped 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, becoming the second country to do so amid a spike in infections that has seen the South American country report record death tolls in recent days.
The United States reached the grim milestone on Dec. 14, but has a larger population than Brazil. On Wednesday, Brazil's health ministry reported 2,009 daily COVID-19 deaths, bringing its pandemic total to 300,685.
On Tuesday, the country saw a single-day record of 3,251 deaths. According to local media reports, the latest coronavirus figures might be affected by changes in the government's counting system.