SAO PAULO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) - Brazil reported on Saturday 1,196 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking its death toll to 223,971, the Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, 57,498 new cases of COVID-19 were detected, bringing its nationwide tally to 9,176,975.

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populated in the country, is the hardest hit, with 1,773,024 cases and 52,954 deaths.

Brazil has the world's second-highest COVID-19 death toll, second only to the United States, and the third-largest outbreak, after the United States and India. The country is experiencing a second wave of COVID-19, with cases and deaths on the rise since December.