Brazil has had 39,637 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 873 deaths from Covid-19, the health ministry said on Sunday.

The numbers reflect a weekend drop in registered cases and deaths. On a rolling seven-day average, Brazil is reporting more than 1,800 deaths a day.

The South American country has now registered 16,947,062 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 473,404, according to ministry data, in the world's third-worst outbreak outside the United States and India, and its second-deadliest.

- Reuters