Brazil becoming coronavirus hot spot as testing falters
David Biller, Diane Jeantet and Leo Correa, Associated Press
Updated 1:00 am CDT, Saturday, April 25, 2020
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Cases of the new coronavirus are overwhelming hospitals, morgues and cemeteries across Brazil as Latin Americas largest nation veers closer to becoming one of the world's pandemic hot spots.
Medical officials in Rio de Janeiro and at least four other major cities have warned that their hospital systems are on the verge of collapse, or already too overwhelmed to take any more patients.
Health experts expect the number of infections in the country of 211 million people will be much higher than what has been reported because of insufficient, delayed testing.
Meanwhile, President Jair Bolsonaro has shown no sign of wavering from his insistence that COVID-19 is a relatively minor disease and that broad social-distancing measures are not needed to stop it. He has said only Brazilians at high risk should be isolated.
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