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Brazil confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus on February 28 th and has moved on to surpass 1 million cases as of Friday, June 19 th . Brazil is only second to the United States in both cases and deaths from the virus as it approached 50,000 deaths on Friday - 1,032,913 confirmed cases were reported alongside 1,206 new deaths. There were 54,771 new cases recorded on Friday. From all indications, Brazil’s death toll from the virus will surpass 50,000 today, Saturday. Alexandre Naime Barbosa, a medical professor at the São Paulo State University , said: “That number of 1 million is much less than the real number of people who have been infected, because there is under-reporting of a magnitude of five to 10 times. The true number is probably at least 3 million and could even be as high as 10 million people.”

In the UK, 357 persons died from Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the country's official total death count to 40,261. Figures from the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal a much higher death toll, suggesting the UK's death toll from the virus currently exceeds 50,000. The UK is the second country to report more than 40,000 deaths; the first being the US with more than 108,000 fatalities. Italy, previously Europe's worst-hit country, has recorded 33,600 deaths from Covid-19. So far, about 5.2 million people have been tested in the UK, with 283,311 people testing positive.

On Wednesday, June 3, Mexico's coronavirus death toll soared, more than doubling Tuesday's toll (470 fatalities). 1,092 new deaths were reported.  Health undersecretary Hugh Lopez-Gatell said that some of the deaths recorded on Wednesday had occurred more than two weeks earlier but weren’t recorded, which explains the huge increase in deaths.  3,912 new coronavirus cases were recorded on Wednesday. Mexico now counts 101,238 cases and 11,729 deaths, making it the seventh country with the most deaths from the virus.

For the second time in close to three months, there has been no coronavirus death recorded in Spain in 24 hours. On Monday, Spain's health officials also reported no death from the virus. So far, Spain has recorded a total of 27,127 deaths from the virus, and a total of 240,000 cases. In a news conference, Emergency health response chief Fernando Simon described the new milestone as being "very, very encouraging". Only 71 new coronavirus cases were reported on Tuesday. "We are in a very good place in the evolution of the pandemic," he said."The statistics are following a trend. They are going the right direction."

As of Sunday morning, Brazil had recorded 33,000 new coronavirus cases and 956 deaths from the virus, taking their total number of cases closer to 500,000 (498,440) and total number of fatalities from the virus to 28,834. Brazil now has the fourth-highest coronavirus death toll in the world, and the second-highest number of cases. Only the US has more cases (1.77 million).  Brazil's deaths curve is much steeper than those of countries like France, the UK and Italy. In Brazil, the number of deaths has been doubling about every two weeks. In the UK, it doubled every two months, in France, every four months. Brazil President Bolsonaro has called for Brazil's football season to reason despite the sharp increase in the number of new cases. He also mingles with hundreds of supporters in Brasilia without a face mask on.

It's been almost four months since the first coronavirus case was confirmed in the US, and over three since the first known virus-related death happened (February 6). In other words, more than 100,000 people have died in 100 days. The virus has claimed lives across all the states in the US. This morning, US President Donald Trump, noted the "very sad milestone" with a tweet: "To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!" An average of approximately 900 Americans have died from Covid-19 since February 6. More than 41% of the deaths in the US have occurred in the states of New York and New Jersey Former US Vice President Joe Biden also tweeted a comforting message to the bereaved families: "There are moments in our history so grim, so heart-rending, that they're forever fixed in each of our hearts as sh...

On Wednesday, May 27, Italy reported an increase in its daily coronavirus cases. 584 new cases were recorded, up from 397 on Tuesday and 300 on Monday. The total number of deaths surpassed 33,000 (33,072 fatalities reported since the start of the pandemic in late February). Daily deaths rose to 117 from 78 on Tuesday.  The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy now totals 231,139. Italy has the sixth-highest global tally of coronavirus cases behind the United States, Brazil, Russia, Spain and Britain. 147,101 people have been declared recovered from the virus in Italy.

Brazil's health authorities reported 807 deaths from the novel coronavirus on Monday, taking its death toll from the virus to 23,473 fatalities. 11,687 new coronavirus cases were also detected, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 374,898. A total of 153,898 people have recovered from the virus so far. Brazil's Health Ministry revealed that the country's COVID-19 mortality rate stood at 6.3%. Sao Paolo, Brazil's capital, is the hotbed of the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil. The region reports more than 83,600 infections and 6,200+ dead. Rio de Janeiro and Seara follow, with 39,298 cases, 4105 deaths for Rio de Janeiro and 36,185 cases and 2,493 deaths for Seara.

On May 23, 2020, Brazil became the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world. Brazil which has more than 330,890 confirmed cases has overtaken Russia to become the second worst-hit country by the virus, after the US which has more than 1.6 million cases.  1,001 more deaths were reported on Saturday, in Brazil, taking its total number of fatalities from the virus to 21,048. 19,969 new cases were registered, taking the country's total number of confirmed coronavirus cases to 340,000+. Brazil has the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in South America. Despite the rampage caused by the virus in Brazil, its officials are looking forward to loosen restrictive measures. In Rio de Janeiro for example, the mayor wants to gradually reopen non-essential shops over the next few days. According to Johns Hopkins University data, the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 338,200 people globally, and over 5.21 million people have been infected. Re...

On Wednesday, May 20, Brazil recorded its highest number of coronavirus and cases - 17,408 new cases and 1,179 new deaths. In the past 24 hours, the state of Sao Paulo recorded 324 deaths. This comes a day after it became the country with the third-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, behind the United States and Russia. Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, Brazil has recorded 17,971 deaths and 271,628 cases.  Despite the havoc caused by the virus in Brazil, her president, Bolsonaro, insists people, including himself, have nothing to fear from the virus, dismissing the risks and comparing Covid-19 to "a little flu". He says quarantines and lockdowns cold have a worse impact on Brazil's economy and continues to call for lockdown measures imposed by local authorities to be lifted. In response to the escalation of the virus in Brazil, POTUS Donald Trump, who Brazil president Bolsonaro has previously described as his "idol", told r...

On Saturday, May 16, health officials in Brazil reported 14,919 new cases, taking their total number of cases to 233,142. Brazil now has the fourth-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world (surpassing Italy and Spain), after the US, Russia and the UK. Brazil also has the fifth-highest coronavirus death toll in the world, with 816 new deaths over the last 24 hours. Its total death toll from the virus stands at 15,633. In Spain, the death toll from the virus was its lowest in more than two months - 87 deaths (the first time the figure dropped below 100). There have been a total of 231,350 cases of coronavirus in Spain and 27,650 deaths. Today, Italy recorded its lowest daily death toll since a lockdown was declared in the country - 145 deaths. In Italy, there have been a total of 224,760 coronavirus cases and 31,908 deaths.

Barcelona and Argentina national team captain Lionel Messi has made another donation towards the fight of Covid-19 pandemic. In March, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner donated 1,000,000 euros for the cause. He recently donated 500,000 euros to an Argentine hospital, Hospital Garrahan, so they could buy supplies and life-saving medical equipment. The hospital made a video thanking him and uploaded it on Twitter. Argentina has so far had 6,278 confirmed coronavirus cases, 1,824 recoveries and 314 deaths. Messi and his mates have resumed training ahead of a potential La Liga return in June. All the players have tested negative. 11 fixtures remain to complete the current La Liga season. Barcelona lead the table with two points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid.

As of Sunday, May 10, in the afternoon, the US' death toll from the coronavirus had climbed to 80,033, with the total number of infections in the country exceeding 1.3 million (1,323,051). The states with the highest number of coronavirus deaths in the US are: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Michigan, Connecticut and California. A number of health officials in the US (some members of the White House coronavirus task force) are going into self-quarantine after "low-risk" exposure to a White House aide who tested positive for the virus. These are: Dr. Anthony Fauci - director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control, and Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration. In Europe, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, announced that Britain would start relaxing its lockdown measures. Britain has been on lockdown for 7 weeks now. In Austral...

On Friday, May 8, Italy reported 243 new coronavirus fatalities, a decrease from Thursday's daily toll of 274 deaths. This takes the total number of fatalities to 30,201. Italy is the second European country to pass the 30,000 deaths mark. Britain reached 30,000 deaths on Wednesday. Spain is the third worst-affected country in Europe after the UK and Italy.  There was a decline in the daily number of new cases. 1,327 new cases were recorded on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 217,185. Italy has begun relaxing lockdown measures nationwide. Catholic churches resume Masses on May 18, while respecting strict social distancing rules and the wearing of face masks. Italians are allowed to visit relatives, but not friends, and can now exercise outdoors. Bars and restaurants are authorized to allow customers to sit at tables in June. Schools, cinemas, and most shops will stay shut though. Public gatherings are still disallowed.

According to the latest figures published by UK health officials, the UK now has the highest number of deaths from the virus in Europe. So far, there has been 29,427 deaths in the UK, while Italy counts 29,315. This includes 693 new deaths on Monday. Italy now has the second-highest death toll from the virus. Worldwide, the UK is only second to the US in terms of total deaths. It is worth noting that the US' population is nearly five times greater than the UK'S. UK Foreign secretary Dominic Raab, on Tuesday at the daily UK government press briefing said: "It's now clear that the second phase will be different. We will need to adjust to a new normal. "We want to make sure that the next phase is more comfortable, is more sustainable," he added. "But we need to be under no illusions, the next stage won't be easy."

On Saturday, May 3, Italy reported 474 new coronavirus deaths - the biggest increase recorded since April 21 and a leap of more than 200 in the daily death toll. The daily death toll dropped to 269 on Friday before the sharp increase on Saturday. The total number of deaths from the virus in the country now exceeds 28,000 (28,710). Italy's Civil Protection Agency reported 1,900 new cases on Saturday, a slight decrease from Friday's 1,965. The total number of cases recorded now total 209,328. Many of the lockdown measures are being eased, with construction and manufacturing activities set to resume next week, and retailers and museums to reopen on May 18. Bars and restaurants will be reopening in June.

On Wednesday, April 22, Italy's Civil Protection Agency reported 437 new deaths from the coronavirus, a drop from Tuesday's 534. There was an increase in the daily tally of new cases; an increase to 3,370 from 2,729 on Tuesday. The number of confirmed cases in Italy now stands at 187,327, the third highest global total after the United States and Spain. The number of active cases fell to 107,699 from 107,709 on Tuesday, a third consecutive daily decline. A grim milestone was crossed in Italy today. The death toll crossed 25,000 deaths, the tally now stands at 25,085 - the second-highest in the world after that of the United States.

On Tuesday, April 21, Spain saw a slight increase in its daily coronavirus death toll. The government reported 430 deaths in 24 hours, an increase from Monday's 399 deaths. This is still quite an improvement from April 2nd's peak of 950 deaths. Monday's death toll was the lowest figure in a month. Spain has the third-highest coronavirus fatality rate after the United States and Italy. The number of confirmed cases in the country has grown to 204,178, the second-highest number of cases in the world, after the US which has more than 790,000 cases. 31,788 of the confirmed cases are medical staff. Recoveries are also growing, with 82,518 recoveries as of Tuesday. A lockdown was enforced in Spain on March 14 and will be extended until May 9th. However, the lockdown conditions will be eased on April 27, allowing kids to spend some time outdoors.

On Monday, April 20, Spain registered 4,266 new coronavirus cases, increasing its total number of coronavirus cases from 195,944 to 200,210 - the nation has passed another grim coronavirus milestone. Spain is the second country to have more than 200,000 coronavirus cases, after the US which has 750,000+.  399 coronavirus deaths were registered in Spain today, bringing the death tally from 20,453 to 20,852. Today is the first time since March 22 that Spain's daily coronavirus death toll has fallen below 400. Spain had its peak in deaths on April3 when 932 deaths were reported.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Covid-19 claimed the lives of close to 1,900 Americans on Saturday, and the total death toll from the virus topped 40,000 by Sunday afternoon (40,585 deaths to be precise). Johns Hopkins University's Covid-19 tracker counts more than 742,000 coronavirus cases in the US and over 2.3 million worldwide. Coronavirus testing in the US stands at 150,000 tests/day, and Harvard researchers have warned that testing must go up to 500,000 people/day if the US economy is to reopen in May. They also said the number of positive tests must decrease, as 20% of those currently tested get positive results. The World Health Organization recommends a 3% to 12% range of positive tests for the economy to reopen.  On Saturday,  White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx presented data showing the US reports 11.24 deaths per 100,000 people, a rate lower than those of countries like Spain, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands,...