A consumer has her temperature measured at a store entrance on the first business day after commerce closures as a prevention measure against COVID-19 outbreak, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 19, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]
Brazil on Thursday reported 45,178 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total caseload to 14,167,973.
Meanwhile, 2,027 died from COVID-19, raising the national death toll to 383,502, the Ministry of Health said.
During a Senate hearing Thursday, Carlos Lula, head of the National Council of State Health Secretariats, proposed suspending all elective non-urgent surgeries at public and private hospitals to lessen hospital occupancy, as surging COVID-19 cases continue to demand large number of hospital beds.
Brazil began its vaccination drive in January, and has already administered 38,470,541 doses.
