Colombia registered a new daily record of deaths from Covid-19 with 648 deaths on Monday, crossing the 100,000 corona deaths threshold.

100,582 Colombians have died of lung disease since the start of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health announced.

In the previous three weeks, thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest the government of conservative President Ivan Duque. The South American country of 50 million people is now experiencing its worst moment since the start of the pandemic. Colombia ranks fourth in death toll in Latin America and the Caribbean and sixth in infections in terms of population.

“More than 10,000 deaths could have been prevented if these meetings had not been held in the previous six or seven weeks,” Duque said in a statement.

Health authorities noted a resurgence of the virus in early April and took additional measures, such as a curfew in major cities. But since April 28, thousands of Colombians have been demonstrating against Duque’s policies, even after the government scrapped a controversial tax hike.