Brazil's death toll from the new coronavirus has surpassed Italy's to become the third-highest in the world, AFP reported.

The country reported a new 24-hour record death toll at 1,437, bringing the total number killed to more than 34,000. That is behind only the United States, with more than 108,000 deaths, and Britain, with nearly 40,000.

Brazil is the hardest-hit country in Latin America, though the tolls are also rising sharply in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Chile.