Brazil becomes second country to pass 400,000 COVID-19 deaths

Brazil on Thursday become the second country to surpass 400,000 coronavirus deaths.

The country has recorded more than 401,000 deaths as of Thursday, The Associated Press reported, citing the country’s health ministry. 

Brazil had loosened restrictions earlier in April due to a decline in cases but has been struggling to get its population vaccinated.

Less than 6 percent of Brazilians have been vaccinated against the virus, according to the AP.

Brazil was hit hard by a variant of the coronavirus thought to have emerged in the country that was more contagious than previous variants in the region.

The U.S. is the only other country to go above 400,000 coronavirus deaths, hitting that milestone in January.

The U.S. is at more than 574,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest in the world.

India is another hot spot for the virus recording hundreds of thousands of coronavirus cases a day. It has seen just over 200,000 deaths from the virus.