Brazil sets single-day record for coronavirus cases

FILE PHOTO: A health worker treats a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the Ronaldo Gazolla Hospital, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Brazil registered a single-day record of 115,228 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, as its outbreak shows new signs of accelerating despite long-delayed vaccination efforts finally gaining steam.

Brazil has recorded the world's highest COVID-19 death toll outside the United States, with more than half a million lives lost, according to the ministry's official tally.