Brazil’s president defiant as coronavirus death toll soars

Grief grips Brazil as deaths from COVID-19 spike sharply but Bolsonaro insists the country must get back to work.

The number of coronavirus infections in Brazil has risen to more than 200,000, while it registered a daily record of 13,944 new cases on Thursday.

But President Jair Bolsonaro continues to push state governors to ease lockdowns and open the economy.

In the region, Argentina is slowly lifting its lockdown but Peru is reeling from a rising number of infections despite imposing movement curbs.

Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports from Buenos Aires, Argentina.