By Muhammed Emin Canik
BUENOS AIRES (AA) – Brazil reported 1,290 more coronavirus-linked fatalities on Saturday, while 654 more people died in Mexico over the past 24 hours.
The death toll in Brazil reached 63,174, according to the data by the country's Health Ministry.
A total of 42,223 new cases were reported in Brazil, pushing the total count to 1,539,081.
Meanwhile, the death toll in Mexico rose to 29,843, with 654 more fatalities, the Health Ministry data showed.
The number of cases surged to 245,251, with 6,740 additions over the past 24 hours.
So far 147,205 patients have recovered 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 525,000 people worldwide, with infections surpassing 11 million and recoveries over 5.87 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.