Some encouraging figures out of Brazil, the country with the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths after the United States.

Last week, the daily average of Covid-related deaths in the South American country dropped below 900, the lowest in three-and-a-half months.

But experts warn it is still too early to say that the worst is over - the most recent figures, from Wednesday, put a dampener on things when Brazil again registered more than 1,200 Covid-related deaths.

The country is expected to pass four million cases later on Thursday.

The president, Jair Bolsonaro, is among those who had Covid-19. Despite having been infected himself, he continues to be dismissive of the risks posed by the virus and has urged regional governors to drop lockdown measures.