With more than half a million COVID-19 cases, Brazil ranks second in the world with the number of infected people behind the United States. 

But Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro continues to downplay the virus even as the death toll skyrockets. 

In Rio de Janeiro, the mayor has announced the beginning of a six-step reopening of the city even as the World Health Organization says the peak of the pandemic is still weeks away.

CGTN's Lucrecia Franco reports.