Brazil already accounts for one-quarter of the world's daily coronavirus deaths. The nation's seven-day average of 2,400 deaths stands to reach to 3,000 within weeks, according to six different epidemiologists. That figure is approaching the worst level seen by the United States, even though Brazil has only two-thirds of its population. Miguel Nicolelis, a professor of neurobiology at Duke University who advised several Brazilian governors and mayors on pandemic control, anticipates the total death toll reaching 500,000 by July and exceeding that of the US by year-end. "We have surpassed levels never imagined for a country with a public health care system, a history of efficient immunisation campaigns and health workers who are second to none in the world," Mr Nicolelis said. "The next stage is the health system collapse." The system is already buckling, with almost all states' intensive care units near or at full capacity.
'Worst may lie ahead for Brazil in coronavirus pandemic with deaths poised to pass US total', ABC News