Brazil surpasses half a million deaths from COVID-19

FILE PHOTO: Graves of people who passed away due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are pictured at the Parque Taruma cemetery in Manaus, Brazil May 20, 2021. Picture taken May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil surpassed 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, the Health Ministry said, registering 2,301 new deaths in the past 24 hours.

The country recorded an additional 82,288 cases of coronavirus on Saturday, with nearly 17.9 million cases of the disease registered since the pandemic began, according to ministry data.