Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has replaced six ministers in a sweeping cabinet reshuffle that comes as the far-right leader faces mounting pressure to account for his government’s handling of a surging COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the changes, Carlos Alberto Franco França was named as new foreign minister and Walter Souza Braga Netto was confirmed as new defence minister, Bolsonaro’s press office said in a statement on Monday evening.

They replace Ernesto Araújo and Fernando Azevedo e Silva, respectively.

The announcement was made after earlier reports that Araújo, a loyal ally of Bolsonaro, and Azevedo e Silva had stepped down.

Bolsonaro, a COVID-19 sceptic who has rejected the need for public health measures to mitigate the spread of the virus, has been widely criticised amid a second wave of COVID-19 infections that has pushed hospitals to the brink.

More than 312,000 people have died in Brazil from COVID-19, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, while the country has reported more than 12.5 million infections – second only to the United States.

Brazil’s health ministry said on Monday 1,660 coronavirus-related deaths and 38,927 new cases had been reported in the past 24 hours, as experts warned this week that younger Brazilians were being particularly hard-hit.