Brazil's Minister of the Secretariat of Government Luiz Eduardo Ramos salutes Brazil's Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco during a session of the Federal Senate in Brasilia, Brazil, March 4, 2021.
Brazil's Senate has passed a constitutional amendment letting the government extend emergency pandemic aid to poor Brazilians, while keeping costs within its spending cap.
The government said it plans a monthly stipend of $45 (250 reais) for four months once the bill clears the lower house.
More generous cash transfers to millions of poor families from April through December last year totalled some $57.3 billion (322 billion reais) and boosted President Jair Bolsonaro's popularity as he eyed re-election in 2022.
READ MORE: Sao Paulo toughens restrictions as Brazil Covid-19 wave bites - latest updates
Rio de Janeiro announces curfew
Brazil's second biggest city of Rio de Janeiro will be the latest to adopt new Covid-related restrictions on Friday, including a night curfew, in a bid to slow a deadly second wave that is ravaging the South American country.
The city of 6.7 million people will impose a curfew from 11 pm to 5 am and order restaurants to close at 5 pm, while certain businesses, such as clubs, will be shut altogether, according to information published in the city's official bulletin on Thursday.
While Covid-19 deaths and infections are falling globally, that is not the case in Brazil, where a record 1,910 people died from the virus on Wednesday.
In response, various states and cities have adopted new restrictions on commerce in recent days, including the Federal District, home of capital Brasilia, and Sao Paulo state, Brazil's most populous.
The new restrictions in Rio are due to last through March 11.
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