Hundreds of red roses dotted Rio's Copacabana beach on Sunday as Brazil became the second country to pass 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, after the United States.

Volunteers from Rio de Paz, a non-governmental organization, placed 500 red roses on pegs and unfurled victim's names embroidered on cloths.

"At the head of the republic, there is a president who violated all sanitary norms from the beginning of the pandemic. He underestimated the lethal power of the virus, participated in anti-democratic public demonstrations, stimulating the agglomeration," said Rio de Paz President Antonio Carlos Costa.

Brazil's death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 500,000 on Saturday as experts warned the world's second-deadliest outbreak may worsen due to delayed vaccinations and the government's refusal to back social distancing measures.

Only 11 per cent of Brazilians have been fully vaccinated, and epidemiologists warn that with winter arriving in the southern hemisphere and new variants of the coronavirus circulating, deaths will continue to mount even if immunizations gain steam.

Thousands of Brazilians protested against Jair Bolsonaro's management of the COVID-19 pandemic in nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, blaming the administration for the high death toll and calling for the president's ouster.

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