Brasilia, Dec 29 (IANS): Brazil registered 20,548 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the overall infection tally to 7,504,833, the Health Ministry said.
Besides the new cases, 431 new fatalities were registered on Monday, which increased the total death toll to 191,570, Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister as saying.
The South American nation currently accounts for world's second highest Covid-19 death toll, behind only the US, and the third largest caseload, surpassed only by the US and India.
Meanwhile, Sao Paulo, the most populous state in Brazil, has been the hardest-hit, with 1,427,752 cases and 45,902 deaths.
Sao Paulo city announced over the weekend the prohibition of non-essential activities on January 1-3 to avoid crowds during the New Year holiday.