Brazil reports record cases, 1,000 deaths in 24 hours

Brazil registered a new record in COVID-19 cases and more than 1,000 deaths in a 24-hour period, according to official figures out Thursday.

The South American country has the world's second-highest number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases - 438,238 - after the US. According to Health Ministry data, 26,417 new cases were confirmed in a 24 hour-period ending late on Thursday.

In that same period, Brazil experienced its third-highest number of virus deaths since the start of the pandemic: 1,156. That brought the total death toll to 26,754, the sixth highest in the world.