Brazil approaches 250,000 COVID-19 deaths

Brazil had 66,588 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 1,428 deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily toll since Jan. 7, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

The South American country has now registered 10,324,463 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 249,957, according to ministry data, in the world's third worst outbreak outside the United States and India and its second-deadliest.