SAO PAULO, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's COVID-19 death toll raced towards 80,000 on Sunday, after 716 deaths in the past 24 hours pushed the total number to 79,488.

The number of people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus reached 2,098,389, after tests detected 23,529 new cases in the same period, the Health Ministry said.

Brazil has the world's second-largest outbreak, after the United States, in both numbers of cases and deaths.

Sao Paulo, the most populated state, is the epicenter of the nation's outbreak, with 19,732 deaths and 415,049 cases of infection, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 12,114 deaths and 138,524 cases, and Ceara, with 7,178 deaths and 146,972 infections.