Brazil approaches 100,000 deaths from COVID-19: ministry

Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Rio de Janeiro

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil reported 53,139 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,237 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Brazil has registered 2,912,212 confirmed cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 98,493, according to ministry data. It is the world's worst coronavirus outbreak after the United States.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; editing by Diane Craft)