ANKARA

Brazil has reported 984 fatalities from the novel coronavirus, while Mexico registered 518 more deaths over the past 24 hours, according to health authorities late Thursday.

In Brazil, the world’s second worst-hit country after the US, the death toll went up to 118,649, while the confirmed cases climbed to nearly 3.76 million, including 44,235 new infections.

So far, over 3.12 million people won the battle against 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 of the country with 784,453 cases and 29,415 fatalities.

Mexico

The Health Ministry of Mexico reported total of 62,594 virus-related deaths with 518 additions over the past day.

The total number of cases in the country rose to 579,914, as 6,026 more people tested positive. As many as 400,479 people have recovered from the disease.

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

Since it originated in China last December, the pandemic has claimed more than 831,600 lives in 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

More than 24.45 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries nearing 16 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev