Brasilia, Jan 15 (IANS): Brazil has registered more than 1,000 single-day coronavirus deaths and over 60,000 confirmed cases for a third consecutive day amidst a second wave of the pandemic in one of the worst-hit countries of the world, according to the government.

On Thursday, the country reported 1,131 fatalities and 67,758 cases, Xinhua news agency reported.

The new figures have increased the overall death toll and the caseload to 8,324,294 and 207,095, respectively.

Brazil currently ranks second in the global number of deaths, surpassed only by the US, and third in the number of total cases, behind the US and India.

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populated in the country, has been hardest hit by the virus, with 1,590,829 cases and 49,289 deaths.

The country is currently under a second wave of the raging Covid-19 pandemoc, with a significant increase in cases since December 2020 that has pushed the public healthcare system to the brink of collapse in several regions.