Brazilian health authorities reported on Tuesday that 204 people died in the last 24 hours as a result of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, bringing the total in the country to 1,736. It is the second consecutive day in which the number of deaths exceeds 200.
The number of positive cases, meanwhile, stood at 28,320, which implies an increase of 3,058 compared to the previous day.
The political tension that Brazil is going through in handling the crisis was exacerbated on Tuesday, given growing rumors about the possibility that the country’s Health Minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, be removed from his post as a result of his contrasting position with the from the president, Jair Bolsonaro.
The chances of this scenario taking place increased during the day after the resignation of one of Mandetta’s closest collaborators, the ministry’s Health and Surveillance secretary, Wanderson de Oliveira.
Shortly before the announcement, the newspaper Folha de San Pablo leaked a letter from De Oliveira, a key part of the strategy to combat Covid-19, in which he said goodbye to his collaborators and announced the imminent departure of Mandetta himself.
The Brazilian press reported that the letter was sent after Mandetta, a 55-year-old orthopedist, informed his team that he would be removed this week.
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