Brazil is set to become the second country to pass 400,000 Covid-19 deaths after the United States, and experts warned that the daily toll could remain high for several months due to slow vaccinations and loosening social restrictions.

A brutal surge of coronavirus infections this year has pushed hospitals around the country to the brink of their capacities and led to 100,000 deaths in just over a month, according to a Reuters report.

Brazil's Covid-19 deaths have fallen slightly from a peak of more than 4,000 in a single day in early April, prompting many local governments to ease lockdowns.

But infectious disease experts warned that this easing will keep deaths elevated for months as vaccines alone cannot be counted on to contain the virus. Two experts said they expect deaths to continue to average above 2,000 per day.