Latin America is emerging as the world’s next coronavirus hotspot, with nearly 500,000 confirmed cases in Brazil and growing numbers of infections in other countries including Mexico, Chile and Peru.
“Our region has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Carissa Etienne, World Health Organization director for the Americas and head of the Pan American Health Organization, said, according to Reuters.
Health officials are warning of “very tough” weeks ahead.
More than 28,800 people have died in Brazil, which has the second highest number of cases in the world behind the U.S.
There are more than 1.7 million known cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and at least 103,600 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide cases have surpassed 6 million and more than 368,00 people have died.
Latest Developments
United States:
-The number of deaths due to coronavirus in the U.S. likely passed 100,000 weeks before that number was officially recorded, according to an analysis of “excess deaths” by the Washington Post and the Yale School of Public Health.
-At least one person who attended a headline-making Memorial Day pool party at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Springfield News-Leader reported. Local health officials say the person was likely infected before the pool party and may have been contagious.
-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news conference Saturday that his state has seen “tremendous, tremendous progress from where we were,” especially in declining numbers of coronavirus hospitalizations and intubations. Cuomo also highlighted what he called one of the “countless inequalities” of the pandemic. “As we reopen NYC, we are laser-focused on the 10 hotspots where infection rates are highest,” he said. “It is not just coincidence that the hotspots are in low-income and minority communities.”
-Besides New York, with more than 368,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, three other states have more than 100,000 cases: New Jersey with more than 158,000, Illinois with some 117,400 and California with nearly 107,000.
-Two states, Montana and Alaska, have less than 500 cases.
-American Samoa is the only remaining U.S. state or territory to report zero infections of COVID-19.
-The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is resuming daily press briefings, CNN reported. The daily briefings stopped on March 9, shortly after a top CDC official predicted that coronavirus would be more serious than the White House was indicating.
Worldwide:
-The European Commission, health experts and world leaders are urging the U.S. to reconsider cutting ties with the World Health Organization. The WHO Is an agency of the United Nations and is widely considered the top authority on health issues worldwide, providing guidance and assistance, especially to developing countries. President Donald Trump has accused WHO of being controlled by China, the country where the coronavirus outbreak first started. Trump had previously said funding to WHO would be cut, but announced in a news conference Friday that all ties with the agency would be severed.
-Competitive sports can resume in the United Kingdom starting Monday, with social distancing guidelines in place that include no spectators, the BBC reported. More than 274,000 COVID-19 cases and some 38,400 deaths have been reported in the UK.
-India is extending lockdown measures until at least June 30 in parts of the country hardest hit by coronavirus. Other areas can continue to reopen in a phased manner. India has confirmed at least 175,950 cases and about 5,000 deaths.
-Also in India, monkeys grabbed three blood samples of suspected coronavirus patients that were being carried by lab assistant, according to CNN. The monkeys escaped into trees, chewed the packets containing the samples and threw them away.
For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page. (https://weather.com/health/coronavirus/news/2020-05-30-coronavirus-updates-latin-america-hotspot-us-who-covid19)
