After two straight days of record COVID-19 deaths in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro told Brazilians to stop “whinging” and move on, in his latest remarks attacking distancing measures and downplaying the gravity of the pandemic.

The country has the world’s second-highest death toll of the pandemic, after the United States. While the US outbreak is ebbing, Brazil is facing its worst phase yet, pushing its hospital system to the brink of collapse.

“Enough fussing and whinging. How much longer will the crying go on?” Bolsonaro told a crowd at an event on Friday AEDT. “How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? No one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution.”

The Health Ministry registered 75,102 additional cases of coronavirus on Thursday, the most in a single day since July and the second-highest on record. It also recorded 1699 deaths on the day, decreasing slightly from the previous two days of record.

A surging second wave has triggered new restrictions in the capital Brasilia and Sao Paulo, the largest city. Tourist mecca Rio de Janeiro on Thursday announced a city-wide curfew and early closing time for restaurants. On Friday, organisers postponed the 2021 Rock in Rio, the event that has featured acts like Lady Gaga, Iron Maiden and Pink, to 2022.

A demonstrator holds a sign written in Portuguese that reads “250 thousand dead in Brazil, Vaccine Now.”

The federal government has been slow to purchase and distribute vaccines, with less than 3.5 per cent of the population having received one shot.

It is working to obtain additional vaccines from more suppliers. The Health Ministry is negotiating to buy 2 million additional Pfizer doses by May, 16.9 million Janssen doses by September and 63 million doses of the Moderna vaccine by January 2020.