Official COVID death toll in Brazil is set to reach 500,000

Brazil looks set to become the second country to pass the devastating milestone of 500,000 deaths linked to COVID-19 with a relentless wave of infections showing no sign of slowing.

The Brazilian Health Ministry reported 98,832 new virus cases and 2,495 deaths for the past 24 hours on Friday.

The South American country has now registered 17,801,462 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 498,499, according to ministry data, in the world’s third-worst outbreak outside the United States and India and its second-deadliest.