The death toll and cases from coronavirus are surging in two Latin American nations — Brazil and Mexico — as the pandemic stabilizes in other former hotspots, including Asia and Europe.
May 24 (UPI) — The death toll and cases from coronavirus are surging in two Latin American nations — Brazil and Mexico — as the pandemic stabilizes in other former hotspots, including Asia and Europe.
Brazil and Mexico have moved into the top 10 for the most deaths in the world. Both Latin American countries set daily death increases last week.
Over two weeks days, Brazil’s deaths have more than doubled from 10,656 to 22,013 into sixth place, according to Worldometers.info. One week ago, the toll was 15,633. The nation reported 16,508 additional cases after a record 21,472 Wednesday for a total of 347,398 in second place behind the United States.
Mexico, meanwhile, last week climbed into the top 10 with 6,989 deaths, displacing Canada.
Conversely, the six European nations in the top 10 — Britain, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and Germany — have seen a dramatic decline in the number of deaths. Combined, they posted 533 deaths Saturday, according to Worldometers.info.
In Asia, mainland China, the original epicenter of the virus, hasn’t reported a death since April 26 and only 164 cases since then, including none for the first time Saturday, for a total of 82,974. The nation has dropped to 13th place with 4,634 fatalities after being No. 1 for several weeks.
Worldwide, the death toll was 343,608 and cases neared 5.4 million through Saturday. That includes 98,683 in United States, which reported the most deaths Saturday: 1,036.
Through Saturday night, Mexico was close behind with a record 965. The nation updates its death total often late at night, including 190 more Sunday night. Worldometer’s cutoff is Greenwich Mean Time.
Mexico also announced 3,329 cases. And the infection rate might be three times higher than the government figures, according to an independent survey, Al Jazeera reported.
More than one-quarter of the deaths have occurred in the nation’s capital in Mexico City where paramedics say hospitals are being inundated with patients.
The nation of 126 million people includes poor and dense populations centers, making it difficult for people to self-isolate. In addition, workers need to stay on the job to earn any money.
« We live in an extraordinarily unequal country; half of all people live day by day and they’re suffering, » Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell told reporters Friday night. « They don’t have [money for their] daily sustenance, to feed themselves. That affects their health and can affect their lives. »
Last Monday, approximately 300 municipalities throughout the country – called « municipalities of hope » – lifted sheltering-in-place recommendations. Similar measures are scheduled to start June 1 in the rest of the country, including classes.
All but around 1,000 of the deaths in North America have been reported in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The border with the United States has been closed, except for the movement of goods and essential workers, since March. Likewise, Canada’s border with the United States has been closed though the nation only reported 105 more deaths Saturday.
