Brasilia, Mar 8 (IANS): The Brazilian state of Mato Grosso has announced that its hospital network has started to collapse, as there is a lack of intensive care unit beds due to the increasing number of Covid-19 patients suffering from Covid-19.

The health authorities of Mato Grosso, the largest grain producer in the country, said in a statement on Sunday that 59 patients needing intensive care beds were turned away from the state's hospitals, asking other areas to treat them, reports Xinhua news agency.

Mato Grosso is the third after Santa Catarina and Minas Gerais to request the transfer of patients with Covid-19 out of state due to the lack of hospital beds amid the latest wave of the pandemic.

Over the last two weeks, deaths from the virus in Mato Grosso have increased by 28 per cent, according to officials.

As of Sunday, Mato Grosso had registered 258,929 coronavirus cases and 5,886 deaths.

Accounting for the third highest caseload after the US and India, Brazil's infection tally reached 11,019,344 on Monday morning.

The country's death toll, currently the second largest following the US, stood at 265,411.