Brazil surpasses U.S. daily virus death toll

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Brazil's daily death toll from coronavirus surpassed that of the United States on Monday (May 25).

That news came as the White House moved an travel ban on some arrivals from the country up by two days.

Over the weekend, Brazil reached another grim milestone, having the second-most coronavirus cases in the world, after the U.S.

A White House statement moved the start of the ban to midnight on Tuesday (May 26), up from Thursday (May 28).

The ban applies to foreigners traveling to the U.S. who have been in Brazil over the past two weeks.

The White House did not give a reason for bringing the travel restrictions forward.

The ban is a blow to right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who has followed U.S. President Donald Trump's example in playing down the gravity of the pandemic.

On Sunday (May 24) Bolsonaro greeted anti-lockdown protesters in the capital, Brasilia, defying recommendations from health officials as his country surpassed 340,000 cases of the coronavirus.