RIO DE JANEIRO, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Brazil recorded 2,233 new COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, the second highest daily increase, taking the national death toll to 272,889, the Health Ministry said Thursday.
The daily increase was only next to Wednesday's figure, which stood at 2,286.
In addition, 75,412 new COVID-19 infections were registered, the third highest number since the beginning of the pandemic,, bringing the country's accumulated caseload to 11,277,717.
Brazil has the second highest number of COVID-19 deaths, behind the United States, and the third highest number of confirmed cases, after the United States and India.
The South American country is currently facing a second wave of the pandemic, which has paralyzed the health system in most of the country's state capitals, and forced state governments to tighten restrictive measures.
The state-run Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, considered one of the world's leading public health research institutions, warned on Thursday that Brazil is experiencing the worst moment of the pandemic.
