Latin America's death toll from the coronavirus pandemic surpassed 100,000 on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally, with few signs of the outbreak easing in a region marked by crowded cities and high poverty levels.
Latin America has seen an alarming spike in cases and deaths even as the tide of infection recedes in Europe and parts of Asia. The number of infections, at 2.2 million, has doubled in less than a month.
Brazil - Latin America's largest and most populous nation - this week became only the second country to reach the 50,000 deaths milestone, after the United States. Mexico on Tuesday registered a fresh one-day record for confirmed infections.
The true scale of the coronavirus damage to Latin America is likely to be much deeper, experts say, as countries across the region have failed to implement rigorous testing programmes. Many officials concede the death toll is likely far higher.
Hugo Lopez-Gatell, Mexico's deputy health minister and the country's coronavirus tsar, on Tuesday signaled that his nation is in for a long battle against coronavirus.
"We must learn to live with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and permanently incorporate hygiene and prevention practices into the new reality," said Lopez-Gatell, urging the Mexican society to adapt its response to the threat.
On top of creaking healthcare systems in many countries across the region, Latin America's battle against the virus has been hamstrung by widespread poverty and many workers living a hand-to-mouth existence in the informal sector that has hindered quarantine efforts.
The leaders of regional heavyweights Brazil and Mexico have also been chastised for not taking the virus seriously enough and for pushing for a reopening of their economies before the virus has been tamed.
A Brazilian judge on Tuesday ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a mask in public after the right-wing populist attended political rallies without one in the middle of the world's second-worst coronavirus outbreak.
Brazil registered an additional 1,374 deaths on Tuesday from the virus and 39,436 new cases, pushing the death toll from the novel coronavirus to 52,000 people in Latin America's biggest economy. More than 1.1 million have been infected.
Mexico, the worst hit-nation in the region after Brazil in terms of overall figures, on Tuesday registered 6,288 new infections and 793 additional deaths. That brought the totals for the country to 191,410 cases and 23,377 deaths.
The virus also appears to be on the rise in Central America, where Guatemala on Tuesday recorded more than 700 new infections for the first time. An additional 35 deaths were registered in Guatemala, taking it deaths total to 582.
Reuters
Wed Jun 24 2020
Worshippers of the African-Brazilian religion attend a burial of a person, who died of unknown reasons during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 1, 2020 - REUTERS/Ian Cheibub/File Photo
Liputan Haji: Bakal fokus kepada cabaran dan kebajikan jemaah wanita
Bagi petugas media mewakili Astro AWANI, untuk tahun ini, musim 1445 hijrah, yang terpilih ialah Editor dan Penerbit Astro AWANI, Dr Azlinariah Abdullah dan Azlinda Salim bersama 12 yang lain daripada agensi media.
Laporan Bank Dunia perlu dipandang serius
Laporan Bank Dunia yang memberi gambaran membimbangkan berkenaan sistem pendidikan Malaysia perlu diambil serius.
[TERKINI] CEO Microsoft dijadual bertemu Anwar pada Khamis
Lawatan Pengerusi dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Microsoft Satya Nadella ke Malaysia itu merupakan sebahagian daripada jelajah Asia Tenggara beliau.
Anwar jumpa PM Qatar, sedia bantu Palestin
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menzahirkan kesediaan Malaysia untuk bekerjasama dengan Qatar dan negara lain di rantau Asia Barat bagi memberikan rawatan kepada rakyat Palestin yang cedera akibat keganasan rejim Zionis.
[TERKINI] Anwar minta seluruh negara Arab tegas dalam isu Palestin
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menzahirkan penghargaan terhadap kepimpinan Kerajaan Arab Saudi berkaitan urusan hal ehwal umat Islam, termasuk konflik Palestin-Israel.
Konflik, bencana alam paksa lebih 4.1 juta kanak-kanak tidak bersekolah di Ethiopia Utara - PBB
Konflik dan bencana alam telah memaksa lebih 4.1 juta kanak-kanak tidak bersekolah di Wilayah Amhara Ethiopia.
Pantau Belanjawan: Keperluan reformasi segera sistem pendidikan Malaysia
Pensyarah Sekolah Pendidikan, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Prof Madya Dr Abdul Halim Abdullah membincangkan keperluan rombakan sistem pendidikan negara selepas Bank Dunia melaporkan hanya 58% pelajar mahir membaca pada usia darjah 5.
ChatGPT tampil ciri Memory, ingat maklumat penting
Apabila perbualan dilakukan, pengguna ChatGPT Plus boleh memilih untuk menyimpan perbualan sebagai memori.
Biden bincang dengan pemimpin Qatar, Mesir cadangan gencatan senjata Gaza
Biden mengesahkan AS bersama-sama Mesir dan Qatar akan berusaha untuk memastikan pelaksanaan penuh syarat-syaratnya.
Bursa Malaysia dibuka tinggi, teruskan kenaikan
Pada 9.05 pagi, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) naik 2.89 mata kepada 1,585.55 daripada 1,582.66 ketika ditutup pada Isnin.
Vinicius Junior menangis jawab isu penderaan perkauman
Penyerang sensasi Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior, menangis dalam sidang media selepas ditanya mengenai isu perkauman yang melibatkan dirinya.
12 maut akibat banjir, tanah runtuh di Brazil
Sekurang-kurangnya 12 orang terbunuh akibat banjir dan tanah runtuh berikutan hujan berterusan di Brazil, kata pegawai pada Ahad.
Euro 2024: Southgate positif di sebalik England tersungkur kepada Brazil
Gareth Southgate gembira dengan mutu persembahan England meskipun tewas kepada Brazil dalam perlawanan persahabatan.
Kes denggi meningkat di Brazil, cabar rancangan vaksinasi
Brazil disahkan mencapai satu juta kes demam denggi pada tahun 2024, dengan 214 kematian.
Kelayakan Olimpik: Brazil kandas, tidak layak ke Paris 2024
Brazil gagal melayakkan diri ke kejohanan bola sepak Olimpik lelaki selepas tewas 1-0 kepada Argentina.
Pantai Rio de Janeiro masih sesak meskipun kes denggi meningkat
Orang ramai dilihat hadir ke pantai Rio de Janeiro untuk mengambil bahagian dalam karnival jalanan yang dinanti-nantikan meskipun terdapat kebimbangan mengenai peningkatan kes demam denggi.
Masihkah ada dendam antara Neymar dan jurulatih baru Brazil?
Dorival Junior menggantikan Fernando Diniz yang menjadi pengurus interim sejak Julai 2023.
Malaysia dan Brazil tingkat kerjasama dalam isu utama global
Malaysia dan Brazil komited untuk meningkatkan penyelarasan dalam bidang kepentingan bersama menerusi dialog.
12 maut dalam nahas pesawat di Amazon Brazil
Sekurang-kurangnya 12 orang, termasuk seorang bayi, maut apabila pesawat ringan yang mereka naiki terhempas di negeri Acre di barat laut Brazil.
14 maut pesawat terhempas di Brazil
Mangsa terdiri daripada pelancong yang dalam perjalanan untuk menjalankan aktiviti memancing.