The Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, the country's most populous, registered 1,021 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, a new daily record, state authorities said on Tuesday.
Sao Paulo's death toll is a worrisome sign that Brazil's total death toll for the day, which will only be released on Tuesday night, could also be a new record.
In Sao Paulo, the previous highest number of daily deaths was 679 last Tuesday.
The spike in the COVID-19 death toll in Sao Paulo comes as Brazil has become the latest epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with overwhelmed hospitals and a shortage of oxygen and drugs in many cities.
Brazil, with a population of 211 million, has recorded roughly 12 million cases of COVID-19 and 295,425 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
(Reporting by Eduardo Simoes, writing by Carolina Mandl, editing by Alexandra Hudson)
