WHO Designates Latin America As New Epicenter For COVID-19

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the American continent is now the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was conveyed in regular briefings, when a study from the United States (US) predicts a spike in deaths in Brazil and other Latin American countries will last until August.

"Now is not the time for countries to ease restrictions," Carissa Etienne, WHO Director for America and head of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), said by videoconference.

Reported by Reuters on Wednesday, May 27, America has reported more than 2.4 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 143 thousand of them have resulted in death. The number of COVID-19 in Latin America has exceeded the European and US figures in cases per day.

"Our region has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Etienne, as another PAHO director warned there were 'very difficult' weeks for the Latin American region. It was emphasized again that Brazil has a long way to go out of the pandemic.

Also of concern to WHO officials are outbreaks in Peru, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. As Brazil's daily death rate became the highest in the world on Monday May 25, a study from the University of Washington warned that the country's total death toll could rise fivefold to 125,000 by early August.

The estimate from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) came with a call for the lockdown of Brazil, which was opposed by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Meanwhile, I currently project deaths from COVID-19 in Peru to number nearly 20,000 in August, IHME said. This indicates that the demand for beds in intensive care units will soon jump.

The latest IHME model projections show the death toll to rise to nearly 12,000 in Chile, seven thousand in Mexico, six thousand in Ecuador, 5,500 in Argentina and 4,500 in Colombia in August.

One country in the Pan-American region that is dealing with COVID-19 relatively well is Cuba. Data from IHME estimates that the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Cuba was only 82 in August while the country will continue testing.

Apart from Brazil, currently Peru and Chile are also the countries worst hit by the impact of COVID-19. The two countries now hold the world's highest per capita infection rates above the seven-day average, according to Our World in Data (OWID), an independent statistics website headquartered at the University of Oxford.

Meanwhile, Brazil overtook Russia to become the country with the highest COVID-19 cases after the US. On Monday, two members of the Chilean government, Energy Minister Juan Carlos Jobet and Minister of Public Works Alfredo Moreno, tested positive for the virus after showing mild symptoms.

"Now is the time to stay strong, to stay vigilant, and to aggressively implement proven public health measures. We have learned from other areas, we have learned what works and what does not, and we must continue to apply this knowledge, "said Etienne.