BRASILIA (REUTERS, AFP) - Brazil reported a record 33,274 new cases of the new coronavirus on Saturday (May 30), its health ministry said, and the death toll surpassed that of France and now ranks below only the United States, Britain and Italy.

The South American nation has now reported 498,440 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the outbreak began, a level of contagion second only to the United States.

The death toll in Brazil from Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, increased to 28,834, with 956 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the ministry said.

Brazilian states are preparing to ease quarantine restrictions despite warnings from public health experts who say the worst is still to come.

Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has played down the gravity of the epidemic and criticised lockdowns for paralysing the economy and causing widespread unemployment and hardship.

Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro remain the hardest-hit states in Brazil in terms of sheer numbers, while per capita rates are higher in the country's impoverished north and northeast, where health facilities are reaching capacity.

Brazil's Ministry of Health has indicated "there is no way to foresee" when the country's outbreak will peak, and experts say the number of cases could be 15 times higher than the confirmed figure because there has been no widespread testing.

The pandemic is spreading across Brazil under a cloud of confrontation, as governors and mayors implement restrictive measures while President Jair Bolsonaro, who has pinned his hopes of re-election on a booming economy, has berated them for imposing what he calls "the tyranny of total quarantine."

The US death toll now stands at 103,685. Britain, meanwhile, has a toll of 38,376 and Italy stands at 33,340.