Daily COVID-19 pandemic roundup: May 12
Miami Desk, May 12 (efe-epa).- Here’s a roundup of stories around the world related to the novel coronavirus pandemic:
US: Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday proposed a new stimulus package totaling more than $3 trillion to alleviate the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis. The new package includes $1 trillion for state, local and tribal authorities and the health care system and establishes a “Heroes Fund” of $200 billion to augment the salaries of essential workers, according to The Washington Post.
AMERICAS: The Pan American Health Organization on Tuesday said that it is very concerned about the speed with which the coronavirus is spreading in the Americas, where over the past week 266,269 new cases have been confirmed, bringing the total caseload to 1.74 million, with more than 104,000 deaths, the vast majority of them – so far – in the United States.
BRAZIL: Brazil on Tuesday reported 881 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll so far to 12,400, while a total of 177,589 confirmed cases have been detected, 9,258 – or 5.4 percent – more than on Monday.
ARGENTINA: Argentina set another dismal record on Tuesday with 285 newly confirmed coronavirus cases, with the total caseload now standing at 6,563, with 319 deaths.
VENEZUELA: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday announced a second extension of the state of emergency he declared on March 13 to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, saying that the quarantine will remain in effect for an additional 30 days until July 13. So far, 423 virus cases have been confirmed here with an official tally of 10 deaths.
PERU: Peru’s health ministry on Tuesday reported that 3,237 new coronavirus cases had been detected in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total caseload to 72,059, while 2,057 people have died.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Dominican President Danilo Medina on Tuesday asked the National Congress to extend the state of emergency by an additional 25 days starting on May 18 to prepare the country for the “gradual” lifting of restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The Dominican Republic has confirmed 10,900 cases so far, with 402 deaths.
NICARAGUA: Nicaragua is currently in an “exponential phase” of increase of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the fact that this is denied by the government, former Health Minister Lombardo Martinez – who served in that post from 1997-1999 said. The government has confirmed 25 virus cases with eight deaths, but Martinez said he doubted whether those totals were accurate, as have at least four other former Nicaraguan health ministers, all of them women.
ECUADOR: Ecuador on Tuesday reported a total of 30,416 confirmed coronavirus cases with 2,327 deaths, even as the country moves little by little toward resuming “normal” economic activities, as demanded by many people who are needing to get back to work so that they can support their families. An additional 1,544 deaths were “probably” caused by the coronavirus, according to official figures released Tuesday.
COLOMBIA: The German government on Tuesday donated medical supplies and 80,000 coronavirus testing kits to Colombia, where 12,272 confirmed cases have been detected with 493 deaths.
CHILE: The Public Health School at the University of Chile in Santiago on Tuesday released a report in which it says that the country’s health care system could collapse, overwhelmed by the number of Covid-19 cases, within the next two weeks. So far, 31,721 virus cases have been detected and 335 people have died, while intensive care unit bed occupancy currently stands at 77 percent nationwide and 87 percent in the capital.
BOLIVIA: Dozens of prisoners in Bolivia’s Palmasola prison, in eastern Santa Cruz province, protested to demand better medical attention and an end to overcrowding on Tuesday after the deaths of two inmates from Covid-19.
EFE
