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BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil on Thursday set a daily record of 4,249 COVID-19 deaths, with overwhelmed hospitals running low on supplies and the Senate about to open an investigation into the response of the government of President Jair Bolsonaro, who has played down the pandemic from the start.
A healthcare worker shows the syringe to a woman after applying a dose of Sinovac s CoronaVac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Cacique de Ramos, one of the most traditional carnival blocks of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil April 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Brazil is nearing the single-day record that the United States registered on Jan. 20 of 4,405 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brazil’s outbreak is spiraling out of control, with vaccines in short supply and Bolsonaro fighting lockdowns.
Speaking during a TV interview, Bolsonaro declined to go into details into what he is preparing.
But he then said: If we were to have problems, we have a plan of how to enter the field. Our armed forces could one day go into the streets.
The comments by Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who has long praised Brazil s two-decade military dictatorship, will do little to assuage critics who fret about his politicisation of the military.
Others worry about his commitment to a peaceful handover of power in the event of a tight result in next year s presidential election.
Brazil sets record daily COVID-19 death toll, Senate to probe Bolsonaro government s response reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.