Brazil sees 602 new virus fatalities, 273 die in Mexico

By Busra Selvi Ogutcen and Muhammed Emin Canik

BUENOS AIRES/ANKARA (AA) – Brazil on Monday reported 602 COVID-19 fatalities, while 273 more patients died in Mexico over the past 24 hours.

The death toll in Brazil reached 64,867, according to the data by the country's Health Ministry.

A total of 26,051 new cases were reported in the Latin American country, pushing the total count to 1,603,055.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Mexico rose to 30,639 with 273 more fatalities, the Health Ministry data showed.

The number of cases surged to 256,848, with 4,683 additions over the past 24 hours.

Nearly 200,000 patients have recovered so far from the virus in the country.

Mexico confirmed its first COVID-19 case on Feb. 28 and first death due to the disease on March 19.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil and Russia are currently the countries hardest hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed more than 534,200 people worldwide, with infections surpassing 11.45 million and recoveries over 6.17 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

* Writing by Firdevs Bulut in Ankara