In an act reminiscent of dictatorships, General Pazuello removes Brazilian data from the Johns Hopkins coronavirus map.

Luis Nassif and 247 - In the most serious action taken so far by the Ministry of Health, General Eduardo Pazuello removed Brazil's Covid-19 data from international databases. The most respected of these, that of Johns Hopkins University, no longer shows data for Brazil.

Instead of taking Brazil out of the news, this attitude will exponentially increase distrust about the country's situation, with inevitable repercussions for foreign trade, foreign investment, and tourism. It's a total disaster if the decision isn't reversed.

See below the statement by Jair Bolsonaro that guided the decision of the interim general at the Ministry of Health, in 247 report and from Reuters:

247 - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro released a statement on Saturday from the Ministry of Health that formalizes a policy of less transparency in the disclosure of data on deaths and infections from the coronavirus in Brazil. See below the statement released by Bolsonaro and also a Reuters report on the explosion of cases in Brazil:

The Ministry of Health has adjusted the way it reports data on cases and deaths related to Covid-19.

Throughout the fight against the disease, data collection has evolved with the provision of supplies, training of teams, and laboratory services. These measures, therefore, allow for more precise data on the situation in each region.

- The release of 24-hour data allows us to monitor the country's current situation and define appropriate strategies for serving the population. The case curve shows situations such as the most critical scenarios, reversals of trends, and the need for preparation.

- Accumulating data, besides not indicating that the majority are no longer ill, does not reflect the current situation in the country. Other actions are underway to improve case reporting and diagnostic confirmation.

- The routines and workflows are being adjusted to ensure the best extraction of daily data, which implies waiting for state reports and data verification. To avoid underreporting and inconsistencies, the Ministry of Health opted for publication at 22 PM, which allows for this complete process. Publication between 17 PM and 19 PM still carried a risk of underreporting. The workflows are being standardized and adjusted for better accuracy.

(Reuters)- Brazil registered 1.005 more deaths from the new coronavirus on Friday, raising the total count to 35.026, the Health Ministry reported.

Patient infected with novel coronavirus is treated at a hospital in São Paulo 03/06/2020 REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

Regarding the number of cases, 30.830 new infections were recorded, bringing the total in the country to 645.771, according to the ministry.

Brazil is the second country with the highest number of confirmed cases in the world, behind only the United States, which has almost 1,9 million infections.

The country is third in the death count, behind only the US (108.068) and the UK (40.261).

The daily release of Covid-19 numbers in Brazil by the Ministry of Health does not indicate that the infections and deaths necessarily occurred in the last 24 hours, but rather that the records were entered into the system during that period.

The ministry announced this Friday that the data would be released later, citing the need for verification with state and municipal secretariats. Until the beginning of this week, the data had been published at 19 pm.

"The story is over on Jornal Nacional... Jornal Nacional likes to say that Brazil is a record holder in deaths. It doesn't matter who made the decision, it's fair to come out at 10 pm to have the completely consolidated data," President Jair Bolsonaro told reporters on the subject.

According to the case count carried out by the ministry by state, São Paulo remains the most affected by Covid-19, reaching 134.565 cases and 8.842 deaths.

The São Paulo state government estimated on Wednesday that the state will have between 190 and 265 cases of coronavirus by the end of this month.