Daily COVID-19 pandemic roundup: June 11
Miami Desk, Jun 11 (efe-epa).- Here’s a roundup of stories around the world related to the novel coronavirus pandemic:
SCIENCE: A study published Thursday by Cell Press’s Med magazine has found that hydroxychloroquine does not reduce the risk of dying among Covid-19 patients but it does prolong a patient’s stay in the hospital. In conducting the study, experts with the Columbia VA Health Care System, the University of South Carolina and the University of Virginia School of Medicine studied the cases of 807 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 at US Veterans Hospitals.
PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez announced Thursday a new package of measures for the third phase of the US Commonwealth’s reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic. Included in the next reopening phase will be movie theaters, gyms, beaches and hotels, and the number of people who may gather in shopping centers and restaurants will be increased to 50 from the current 25.
BRAZIL: Brazilian authorities confirmed Thursday 1,239 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll so far to 40,919, while the number of confirmed cases has surpassed 800,000.
BRAZIL: Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, two of Brazil’s most heavily populated cities and the two urban areas hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, on Thursday reopened their shopping centers on the same day that the country’s death toll exceeded 40,000 with the peak of the caseload and fatality curves as yet nowhere in sight.
PERU: Peruvian health authorities said Thursday that 6,109 people have died in the Covid-19 pandemic so far, 88 days after the first case was detected, with a new daily high of 206 being registered in the past 24 hours, while 5,965 newly confirmed cases were reported, bringing the total caseload to 214,788.
CHILE: The Chilean government on Thursday confirmed that Social Development and Family Minister Cristian Monckeberg has tested positive for Covid-19, thus becoming the third member of Sebastian Piñera’s cabinet to be infected with the coronavirus.
GUATEMALA: The US Embassy in Guatemala on Thursday warned the local population about the dangers of illegal migration amid the spread of Covid-19 and the possibility of infection while en route to the US, the preferred destination of most Guatemalan illegal migrants.
GUATEMALA: Guatemala reported 155 deaths from Covid-19 in the past week, almost 50 percent of the total death toll from the pandemic so far, and its main hospitals are asking for help due to being overwhelmed with patients. A total of 316 people have died in Guatemala since the pandemic hit the country on March 13, and 8,221 confirmed cases have been detected, while on June 8 Guatemala registered its highest daily new-case total: 447.
PANAMA: Panama on Thursday reported a record 697 newly confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the caseload to 18,586, while 418 people have died since March 9.
PANAMA: In Panama, illegal migrants stranded in shelters near the border with Colombia, along with the country’s prison population, are at “high risk” of being infected with the coronavirus due to “unhealthy and overcrowded” conditions, the director for the Americas with Human Rights Watch, Jose Miguel Vivanco, said Thursday.
ECUADOR: Ecuadorian authorities reported Thursday that the coronavirus caseload now stands at 45,082, 642 more than 24 hours ago, while the death toll rose by 48 to 3,768 over the past day.
EFE
