Brazil passed 1 million coronavirus cases on Friday, June 19 and approached 50,000 deaths, The Guardian reports.

The grim milestone for Brazil marks a new nadir for the world’s second worst-hit country as it struggles with a tense political climate and a worsening economic outlook.

Second only to the US in both cases and deaths, Brazil confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus on 26 February. The virus has spread relentlessly across the continent-sized country, eroding support for right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro and raising fears of economic collapse after years of anaemic growth.

Brazil reported 1,032,913 confirmed cases on Friday, with 1,206 new deaths to take total official fatalities to 48,954, the Health Ministry said. Friday also saw a new record daily number of cases, with 54,771, suggesting the outbreak is far from over.

Globally, cases have passed 8.6 million, with more than 460,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker.