BUENOS AIRES/ANKARA

Brazil reported 1,215 additional fatalities of the novel coronavirus, while Mexico registered 827 more deaths over the past 24 hours, according to health authorities on Wednesday.

In Brazil, the world's second worst-hit country after the US, the death toll reached 122,596, while the confirmed cases surpassed 3.95 million, including 42,659 new infections.

According to the Brazilian Health Ministry, over 3.15 million people have so far recovered from the virus in the Latin American country.

With a population of over 211 million, Brazil is seen as the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the region.

While the government has been accused of not doing enough to stem the spread of the virus, Vice President Hamilton Mourao has defended its handling and instead blamed a lack of discipline among Brazilians for the failure of social distancing measures.

Brazil's vibrant financial center of Sao Paolo, with a population of nearly 46 million, is the most affected region in the country.

Mexico

The Mexican Health Ministry reported a total of 65,241 virus-related deaths with 827 additions over the past day.

With total cases in the country rising to 606,036, health authorities registered 6,476 more positive tests. As many as 421,373 people have recovered from the disease so far, according to official numbers.

The first infection in Mexico was registered on Feb. 28 and the first fatality on March 19.

Worldwide, the virus has claimed more than 857,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since emerging in Wuhan, China in December.

The US, Brazil, India and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

Over 25.7 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries over 17 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

* Writing by Merve Aydogan