More than 10 million virus cases in Latin America, Caribbean
More than 10 million cases of the new coronavirus have been recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean according to an AFP tally at 0640 GMT based on official sources.
A total of 10,001,833 cases have now been recorded, of whom 366,637 people have died and 8,537,563 are considered to be cured. According to official figures, the region is the worst hit by the virus in the world in terms of deaths.
More than half the recorded cases in the region have been registered in Brazil, which officially has 5,055,888 cases and 149,639 deaths.
It is followed by Colombia, with 894,300 cases and 27,495 deaths; Argentina with 871,455 cases and 23,225 deaths; and Peru with 843,355 cases and 33,158 deaths.
Mexico, although it has fewer cases at 809,751, has suffered a high number of deaths—the fourth highest in the world—with the toll currently 83,507.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.
Many countries are testing only symptomatic or the most serious cases.
© 2020 AFP
