Brazil reported 3,650 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, which is the highest single-day death toll as the coronavirus pandemic is spinning out of control in the nation, mainly due to the local variant. Brazil has been witnessing spike in daily new cases and deaths as the Latin American nation is now the second-worst hit globally after the United States.

A total of 307,000 people have died in Brazil from the COVID-19 disease so far. Brazil first recorded over 3,000 deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday, as the average daily toll over the past week was 2,400, which is triple what the nation saw in early January.

The increase in deaths from COVID-19 in Brazil is due to several factors, including people not following social distancing norms. The nation is also battling a new variant that has emerged locally and is believed to be more contagious than the original strain. 

Also Read | Brazil breaches daily tally 100,000 of COVID-19 cases

Recently, Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticised Jair Bolsonaro over the increasing daily death toll, saying “It is the biggest genocide in the history of our country.”

The vaccination drive in Brazil is also moving slowly as only 5.9% of the population of 212 million has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine. 

Bolsonaro this week announced that he was launching a crisis committee to deal with the pandemic, a step that came amid mounting pressure. 

Also Read | Brazil to give first vaccine dose to as many as possible amid COVID-19 surge

The announcements appeared to do little to tame criticism of Bolsonaro, who has flouted expert advice on lockdowns and face masks, pushed a drug regimen that scientists say does not work, and spoken out against vaccines.