LATIN AMERICA NOW AT ‘EPICENTRE’ OF COVID-19 CRISIS.
Low testing may indicate many more cases
Latin America has become the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with infections and deaths set to substantially worsen in the coming weeks, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
The region has confirmed just under 700,000 cases and 33,000 deaths, far less than the U.S. and Europe, but grim reports of cities resorting to mass graves and low testing rates in the majority of countries have led to concerns that these figures are a significant underestimate.
“There can be no doubt our region has become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the WHO’S regional office, the Pan American Health Organization, told a virtual press conference.
“Now is not the time to relax restrictions or scale back preventive strategies, now is the time to stay strong, to remain vigilant and to aggressively implement proven public health measures.”
The coronavirus is believed to have first arrived in Latin America in late February and has since taken hold in most of the region.
There have been repeated warnings that the outbreak could be exacerbated by underfunded hospitals and stagnating economies, as Latin American governments have far fewer resources to combat the virus than many of those in Europe or North America.
However, high rates of underlying diseases, including diabetes and cancer, could also cause a higher death rate from the virus, said Etienne.
“One of the most concerning aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the disproportionate impact of the virus on people suffering from non-communicable diseases,” she said.
“We have never seen such a deadly relationship between an infectious disease and NCDS. Some of the data is truly alarming, especially for our region where NCDS are pervasive.”
Brazil is experiencing South America’s most severe outbreak, with 23,473 reported deaths and close to 375,000 infections — a total second only, globally, to the United States.
These bleak figures are forecast to worsen in the coming weeks. Pan American Health Organization modelling has predicted that the country will be reporting 1,020 fatalities a day by late June, culminating in a total death toll of 88,300 by Aug 4.
Jair Bolsanaro, the country’s far-right president, has repeatedly downplayed the crisis, calling COVID-19 a “little flu.” He has accused state governors leading coronavirus control measures of inciting panic with allegedly excessive stay-at-home recommendations.