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Situation in Brazil humanitarian catastrophe, MSF says

Brazil's "failed Covid-19 response" is slotxo driving the country to a "humanitarian catastrophe", the international charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said.

The country has seen a sharp rise in cases and deaths in recent weeks, fuelled by more transmissible variants of the virus and a lack of co-ordinated national measures. President Jair Bolsonaro has strongly opposed imposing a lockdown, despite growing calls from health experts, and criticised state governors and mayors for announcing local restrictions.

"The federal government has all but refused to adopt evidence-based comprehensive public health guidelines, leaving Brazil's dedicated medical staff to manage the sickest in intensive care units and improvise solutions when beds are unavailable," MSF's international president Dr Christos Christou said in a statement.

"This has put Brazil into a permanent state of mourning and led to the near collapse of Brazil's health system."

The virus continues to circulate across the country and the situation is unlikely to improve in April as some states and cities are already easing restrictions, according to the health institute Fiocruz.

Patients with Covid-19 are occupying more than 90% of intensive care beds in most states, Fiocruz said, while some parts of the country have reported short supplies of oxygen and anaesthetics needed to help patients with serious complications.

The country recorded 73,513 new cases and 3,459 deaths in 24 hours on Wednesday, according to the health ministry. As the pandemic rages, hundreds of babies and young children have died, as our colleagues Nathalia Passarinho and Luis Barrucho from BBC Brasil report.