Brazil on Friday (Jun 19) passed a total of more than 1 million COVID-19 cases, and nearly 50,000 deaths, according to Health Ministry data, in a new nadir for the world's second worst-hit country.

Brazil has recorded 1,032,913 confirmed cases, second only to the United States, with 1,206 new deaths reported on Friday to take the total official fatalities to 48,954, the ministry said.

Brazil confirmed its first case of the virus on Feb 26. It 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.

The true extent of the outbreak in Brazil far exceeds official figures released after 6pm (2100 GMT) on most evenings, according to many experts, who cite a lack of widespread testing in the country as a factor adding to many uncertainties about the disease.

"That number of 1 million is much less than the real number of people who have been infected, because there is under-reporting of a magnitude of five to 10 times," said Alexandre Naime Barbosa, a medical professor at the Sao Paulo State University.

"The true number is probably at least 3 million and could even be as high as 10 million people."

The count has risen by a daily average of 25,000 new cases and 1,000 fatalities for the past week.