Brazil has reached 27,878 coronavirus deaths, official figures showed, surpassing the toll of hard-hit Spain and making it the country with the fifth-highest number of fatalities.

The epicentre of the South American coronavirus outbreak, Brazil saw 1,124 deaths in 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said.

According to AFP, it also had a record number of new cases — 26,928 in one day — bringing the total number of infections to 465,166.

The United States, Britain, Italy and France lead the world in coronavirus deaths.