LatAm infections hit 1.5M; Brazil 40,000

SAO PAOLO: More than 1.5 million coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases have been identified in Latin America, a region now threatened by a food crisis, while global markets plunged on Thursday anticipating a long road to economic recovery.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that the pandemic was accelerating in Africa.

Brazil on Thursday passed two grim milestones: 40,000 Covid-19 deaths and some 800,000 coronavirus cases. In the wider Latin America region, the death toll has 70,000 deaths.

Despite the rising toll Brazil’s two largest cities — Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro — reopened shopping malls, even as the Health ministry said there had been more than 1,200 deaths in the last 24 hours and more than 30,000 new cases.

To the north across the Atlantic, the European Commission recommended that the 27 European Union members fully reopen their frontiers with each other on June 15, and with the western Balkans starting July 1.

Europe’s borders with the world beyond will open gradually in countries where the pandemic is considered under control.

The United States, which has the world’s highest number of deaths and infections, saw cases surge past two million.

The virus and the lockdowns have caused a spike in US unemployment — 44.2 million forced out of jobs since mid-March — and wreaked havoc on the world economy.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US economy would reopen even if there was a second wave of infections, as Wall Street stocks nosedived in the worst session since March.

“If you shut down the economy, you’re going to create more damage,” Mnuchin said.

On a torrid day around the world, Russia passed 500,000 confirmed cases and Iran said 180,000 had been infected there. The WHO also raised alarm bells over the hastening spread of the virus in Africa.

“It took 98 days to reach the first 100,000 cases, and only 18 days to move to 200,000 cases,” said WHO’s Matshidiso Moeti.

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 419,000 people and infected close to 7.5 million since it emerged in China in December, according to an Agence FrancePresse tally of official sources.

The epidemic, along with economic and social lockdowns imposed by governments to contain its spread, has also left economic devastation in its wake.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) fears the crisis could provoke “the worst recession in history” in the region, which has become the virus epicenter.

“We’re worried the region could come out of this crisis with more debt, poorer, hungrier and with more unemployment. And most of all, angry,” said Eclac General Secretary Alicia Barcena.