Brazil on Thursday reported 45,178 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total caseload to 14,167,973.
Meanwhile, 2,027 died from COVID-19, raising the national death toll to 383,502, the Ministry of Health said.
During a Senate hearing Thursday, Carlos Lula, head of the National Council of State Health Secretariats, proposed suspending all elective non-urgent surgeries at public and private hospitals to lessen hospital occupancy, as surging COVID-19 cases continue to demand large number of hospital beds.
Brazil began its vaccination drive in January and has already administered 38,470,541 doses.
