Brazil broke its record for new daily Covid-19 deaths with nearly 2,000 fatalities, as the pandemic overwhelms hospitals and vaccinations progress slowly.

The health ministry reported a daily total of 1,972 new deaths in the country, which has the world's second-highest overall toll, exceeded only by the United States. It also reported 70,764 new cases of Covid-19, meaning 11.1 million people have now caught the virus in the country, while a total of 268,370 have died.

The previous daily death record was set on March 3 with just over 1,900 fatalities. The figure has been rising steadily over the past two weeks.

Brazil is facing a dire situation with intensive care units more than 80 per cent occupied in 25 of Brazil's 27 capital cities, according to a report released by public health institute Fiocruz.