Latin America’s virus cases top 1 million
UK, Russia ease lockdowns
BRASILIA (AFP) — Confirmed coronavirus cases in Latin America have surged past one million, while hard-hit Britain and Russia eased lockdowns yesterday, despite not having their outbreaks fully under control.
Governments around the world are moving to ease restrictions that have wrecked their economies, even as the number of cases tops 6.1 million and virus deaths exceed 371,000.
With more than half a million known infections, Brazil now has the second highest caseload in the world, but its anti-lockdown President Jair Bolsonaro again defied social distancing recommendations on Sunday.
Without wearing face mask, the farright leader met a tightly packed group of supporters in the capital Brasilia as the crowd chanted “Myth! Myth! Myth!” – echoing his dismissal of the virus threat.
Bolsonaro has been a staunch opponent of lockdowns as a tool for containing the coronavirus, saying they are unnecessary and harmful to the economy, but he has faced intense criticism from worried state authorities and angry citizens.
Despite his skepticism, the virus rages on in Brazil and other parts of South America, with the situation in Chile, Bolivia and Peru also worsening.
While South America and parts of Africa and Asia have only just started to feel the full force of the pandemic, hardhit European countries have begun cautiously easing lockdowns as they seek a return to some form of normalcy.
Experts, however, have cautioned that moving too fast could spell disaster, with no vaccine or effective treatment yet for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
In Britain, where schools were set to partially reopen yesterday, some senior government advisers warned things were happening too rapidly.
“COVID-19 spreading too fast to lift lockdown in England,” tweeted Jeremy Farrar, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
Hard-hit Russia, which saw an explosion of infections in recent weeks, was also set to reopen shopping malls and parks in Moscow, despite the still high number of cases.
While Muscovites welcomed the opportunity after weeks of being cooped up at home, many ridiculed Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s “experiment” aimed at regulating people’s walks and exercise based on their home address.
Popular comedian Maxim Galkin even released a sketch about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Sobyanin discussing a “breathing schedule” for the capital’s residents.