Daily COVID-19 pandemic roundup: July 2
Miami Desk, Jul 2 (efe-epa).- Here’s a roundup of stories around the world related to the novel coronavirus pandemic:
LATIN AMERICA: The virtual halt in economic activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic will result in the closure of 2.7 million formal businesses in Latin America, most of them micro-enterprises, a situation leading to the destruction of 8.5 million jobs, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said Thursday.
BRAZIL: Brazil could have at least eight million people who have been infected with the coronavirus, five times the number of cases confirmed by the government, according to a study commissioned by the Health Ministry that examined blood samples from more than 89,000 Brazilians in 133 cities. At present, Brazil has suffered almost 62,000 Covid-19 deaths and 1.5 million cases.
BRAZIL: The coronavirus could have been circulating in Brazil, one of the world’s current epicenters of the pandemic, since last November, or three months before the first Covid-19 case was confirmed, according to academic sources on Thursday.
CENTRAL AMERICA: The Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the Central American Isthmus (Fecamco) demanded on Thursday that governments in the region reopen economic activities, all the while guaranteeing a balance with public health considerations. With the exception of Nicaragua, the countries in the region have declared quarantines and economic shutdowns to try and halt the spread of the coronavirus.
ECUADOR: Ecuador on Thursday reported 1,229 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, raising the total caseload to 59,486, while official figures show that 4,639 people have died although an additional 3,134 people are suspected of dying from the coronavirus but were never tested for it.
ECUADOR: The percentage of positive tests for the coronavirus in Quito has jumped by 3 percent in the past month, according to tests performed by the city, which is trying to control the spread of the virus in local markets and southern neighborhoods to prevent the collapse of the health care system.
COSTA RICA: The Costa Rican Health Ministry on Thursday declared that the country is experiencing the “community spread” of the coronavirus, particularly in the urban areas, given the increase in confirmed cases in recent days and the difficulties of determining precisely how those people became infected. Costa Rica has confirmed 4,023 cases, 270 of them in the past 24 hours, and 17 deaths.
MEXICO: The Mexican armed forces in the central state of Puebla on Thursday opened certain military installations to the public to facilitate treatment of Covid-19 patients. So far, the state has tallied 10,456 virus cases and 1,452 deaths. Mexico as a whole has suffered 28,510 Covid-19 deaths so far.
COLOMBIA: Colombia continues to experience an acceleration in the spread of the coronavirus, with 102,009 confirmed cases so far – a doubling in the past 17 days – and 3,470 deaths, a tripling in fatalities in the past 26 days.
PERU: Peruvian indigenous leader Santiago Manuin – who was awarded Spain’s Queen Sofia Prize in 1994 – died of Covid-19 in a Chiclayo hospital on Wednesday.
BOLIVIA: Bolivia’s interim minister of the presidency, Yerko Nuñez, said he had tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday and will remain isolated, although so far he is in stable condition.
BOLIVIA: Bolivia set a new record for Covid-19 deaths on Thursday, registering 78 in the past 24 hours, and once again exceeded 1,000 confirmed cases in a single day, reporting 1,201 new virus cases. The country’s caseload now stands at 34,227, while the death toll is 78.
ARGENTINA: Argentine health authorities on Thursday reported 2,744 new coronavirus cases, bringing the caseload total to 69,941, while 22 people died of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, putting the death toll at 1,385.
EFE
