The coronavirus death toll in Brazil has surpassed 20,000 after another record number of fatalities in a 24-hour period, the health ministry said.

The coronavirus death toll in Brazil has surpassed 20,000 after another record number of fatalities in a 24-hour period, the health ministry said.
The country is the epicentre of the outbreak in Latin America, and its highest one-day toll of 1,188 has pushed the overall death tally to 20,047.
Brazil has now recorded more than 310,000 cases, with experts saying a lack of testing means the real figures are probably much higher.
With its curve of infections and deaths rising sharply, the country of 210 million ranks third in the world in terms of total cases, behind the United States and Russia.
The death toll, the sixth highest in the world, has doubled in just 11 days, according to ministry data.
Despite the worrying spread of the disease, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro yesterday continued his calls to scrap lockdown measures to revive a flagging economy.
But almost all of the country’s 27 states are under some sort of lockdown order, though Brazilians are wearying of the restrictions in place since the end of March.
Ruby Princess arrived in Sydney in March and many passengers who departed were infected with Covid-19
Australia extends cruise ship ban to September
Australia has extended its ban on most international cruise ships for three months until mid-September, making no mention of a hoped-for exemption for travel to neighbouring New Zealand.
The ban applies to any cruise liner capable of carrying more than 100 passengers, the Australian Border Force said in a statement.
It is the latest blow to the multi-billion-dollar cruise industry, which already faces lengthy bans in countries from the United States to the Seychelles.
Australia first announced the ban on international cruise liners on 27 March when nearly 30 liners were in its territorial waters.
Hundreds of Australians who disembarked from the ships were subsequently diagnosed with Covid-19.
The former passengers have accounted for more than 20 of the 101 deaths registered from the disease in the country.
Most of those cases and deaths were connected to the Ruby Princess liner, which arrived in Sydney in late March.
The handling of that ship and its passengers is the subject of a criminal probe and a high-level civil investigation.
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US adds 1,255 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours
The United States recorded 1,255 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 94,661, according to the latest real-time tally last night reported by Johns Hopkins University.
The country – hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of the number of fatalities – has now confirmed a total of 1,576,542 cases, the Baltimore-based school reported.
President Donald Trump meanwhile has ordered US flags to be lowered to half-staff for three days in honour of Americans who have died from coronavirus.