Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro attends the flag-raising ceremony at his official residence in Brasilia, Brazil, July 22, 2020. (Photo by Lucio Tavora/Xinhua)

Thousands of people in Brazil protested on Saturday against President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as New Zealand health confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the community for more than two months.

Governments in several countries meanwhile, scrambled to put in place new restrictions to counter surging case loads.

Europe faced a worsening struggle with production woes hitting supply of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine as well as the Pfizer/BioNTech shot.

Around the world, more than 2.1 million people have died of COVID-19 since it emerged in December 2019, with over 98 million infected.

In the world's worst-hit country, US President Joe Biden warned America's death toll could pass 600,000, the highest estimate yet that would mark a devastating rise on the 400,000 fatalities so far.

Leftist parties and organizations organized the protests in Brazil which saw some 500 vehicles paraded down the capital Brasilia's Esplanade of Ministries blaring their horns.

Painted slogans included "Bolsonaro Out," "Impeachment Now" and "Vaccination for Everyone."

Hundreds of cars formed similar protests in other cities, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Brazilian scientists have warned that the country faces running out of vaccine doses and basic equipment like syringes, just as its vaccination campaign gets underway - and some blame the government.

New Zealand health officials on Sunday confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the community for more than two months, sparking urgent contact-tracing efforts north of Auckland.

A 56-year-old woman who recently returned from Europe tested positive 10 days after completing a compulsory two weeks in managed isolation, although she had noticed symptoms several days before getting tested.

Contact tracing was underway after it was revealed the woman and her husband spent several days traveling around the Northland region while she was potentially infectious, visiting about 30 different locations.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins said it was too soon to decide whether a full or partial lockdown would be reintroduced.

"We don't know the origin or the strain of the infection," he told a press conference.

The woman returned to New Zealand on December 30 after spending four months in Europe and was released from an Auckland quarantine hotel on January 13. 

New Zealand director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said she had returned two negative tests while in isolation, and her husband had not shown any symptoms.

It marks the first known case of community transmission in New Zealand since November 18.

AFP