Coronavirus live news: Covid death rates 10 times higher in countries where most adults overweight
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Brazil has suffered yet another day of record Covid losses with at least 1,910 new fatalities reported in the crisis-stricken South American country.
On Wednesday evening the National Council of State Health Secretaries said those deaths took the country’s total death toll to 259,271 - about 10% of the global total. A record 1,726 deaths were reported on Tuesday.
The announcement came as hospitals all across Brazil struggled to cope with a wave of new infections and criticism of the president Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the crisis intensified. Pot-banging protests are planned for Wednesday night.
Earlier, Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly undermined containment measures and trivialised the coronavirus, defended his response to the public health calamity. He accused journalists of “creating panic” and unfairly blaming him for the rising death toll. “For the media, I’m the virus,” the far-right politician said.
Political rivals have dialled up their attacks on Bolsonaro in recent days as the situation has deteriorated. On Tuesday, the centre-right politician Eduardo Leite told reporters:”It’s hard to understand Bolsonaro’s mind, harder still his heart because this is a question of inhumanity, contempt for life.”
“Leaders who spurn public health guidelines and confuse people are killing them, I’m afraid. That’s what’s happening in Brazil right now,” Leite added
Countries with high levels of overweight people, such as the UK and the US, have the highest death rates from Covid-19, a landmark report reveals, prompting calls for governments to urgently tackle obesity, as well as prioritising overweight people for vaccinations.
About 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths from Covid were in countries with high levels of overweight people, says the report from the World Obesity Federation. Countries such as the UK, US and Italy, where more than 50% of adults are overweight, have the biggest proportions of deaths linked to coronavirus.
Related: Covid deaths high in countries with more overweight people, says report
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