Brazil reports 2,997 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours -health ministry

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil has had 95,367 new cases of coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 2,997 deaths from COVID-19, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

The South American country has now registered 17,628,588 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 493,693, according to ministry data, in the world’s third worst outbreak outside the United States and India and its second-deadliest.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Chris Reese)