BUENOS AIRES: As the novel coronavirus continues to spread in Latin America, Brazil's death toll on Monday surpassed 43,000 as fatalities topped 17,000 in Mexico.

In Brazil, 612 more fatalities over the past 24 hours raised the death toll to 43,332, according to the country's Health Ministry.

The total number of cases to date in the world's second worst-hit country reached 867,624 as 17,110 more people tested positive for COVID-19.

In Mexico, 269 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 17,141.

A total of 4,147 more people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, raising the overall count to 146,837, the Health Ministry said.

Worldwide, the pandemic has killed more than 433,600 people, with total infections above 7.92 million, while over 3.78 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.