Brazil hospitals pushed to limit as COVID-19 death toll soars

Medical workers take care of patients in the emergency room of the Nossa Senhora da Conceicao hospital that is overcrowding because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, March 11, 2021. REUTERS/Diego Vara

BRASILIA/PORTO ALEGRE (Reuters) - Hospitals in Brazil's main cities are reaching capacity, health officials warned, as the country recorded the world's highest COVID-19 death toll over the past week, triggering tighter restrictions on Thursday in its most populous state.

Intensive care wards for treating COVID-19 patients have reached critical occupancy levels over 90% in 15 of 27 state capitals, according to biomedical center Fiocruz.