Latin America lifting curbs
Colombians will soon be going to cinemas without having to wear masks. Chile will open its borders next week, for the first time in two years. Mexico’s president has declared the pandemic over. And in Rio de Janeiro, tens of thousands have attended Carnival parades just two months after the world-famous spectacle was postponed to prevent Covid-19 infections.
Even as coronavirus cases rise in China and authorities there impose new lockdowns, plummeting infection rates in Latin America have countries eliminating restrictions on mass gatherings, lifting some travel requirements, and scrapping mask mandates that have been in place for two years.
The region has been hit hard by the pandemic, with nations like Brazil and Peru registering some of the world’s highest death tolls. But cases and deaths fell this month in most places, to lows resembling levels last seen in the first two months of the pandemic.
Some epidemiologists believe that vaccination campaigns and months of exposure to different strains of the virus have helped the region’s populations resist new waves of contagion.
‘‘What we appear to be seeing is that while the virus is still circulating, many people are not falling ill or presenting symptoms,’’ said Fernando de la Hoz, an epidemiology professor at the National University in Bogota.
Last year Latin American countries were pummeled by the coronavirus, with the Delta and Gamma variants – the latter of which emerged in Brazil – infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. In June, Brazil reached 500,000 deaths, and seven countries in South America were among the 10 nations in the world with the highest death rates per capita.
The BA.2 variant of the virus, which spread rapidly through China, the United States and some European countries in March, has not had a significant impact in most of the region so far.
Most countries in the region have met the World Health Organisation’s target of vaccinating 70% of their people with at least two doses.
Ivan Dario Velez, a specialist in infectious diseases at Colombia’s University of Antioquia, said new mutations and outbreaks could still happen in the coming months, and governments in the region might have to apply new rounds of vaccinations or take other steps.