The coronavirus pandemic, which this Sunday is close to half a million dead and exceeded 10 million infections, continues to expand rapidly, especially in Latin America and the United States, which accounts for a quarter of all cases.
Since it emerged in December in China, the new coronavirus has claimed 499,510 lives and the official number of accumulated infections is at least 10,058,010, according to an AFP count at 19:00 GMT from official sources.
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The pace of the pandemic’s spread remains rapid, with one million new cases reported in just six days. In China, half a million people were confined on Sunday near Beijing, hit by a covid-19 outbreak that authorities describe as “serious and complex.”
The United States, the country most affected by the disease, has 125,709 deaths and more than 2.5 million cases. Contagions are increasing in 30 of its 50 states, particularly in the largest and most populous in the south and west, such as California, Texas and Florida.
In the past 24 hours, about 9,500 new infections and 24 deaths were recorded in Florida. The average age of infected people is now 33, compared to 65 two months ago.
Florida is facing a “real explosion” of the disease among young people who, thanks to lack of confidence since early June, have returned to the beaches and nightlife, Governor Ron DeSantis acknowledged this week.
In California, Disney announced the postponement of the premiere of the movie ‘Mulan’ again, which is scheduled for July 24 to August 21.
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Accelerated expansion in Latin America
Latin America and the Caribbean is the region of the world where the disease progresses most rapidly, with more than 400,000 additional cases in the last seven days, according to the AFP count.
Brazil, the second country most mourned by the virus, returned on Saturday to announce the highest daily number of deaths in the world, and it already has more than 57,000 deaths and 1.3 million cases. The South American giant reported an agreement to produce up to 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the British University of Oxford. The country is helping to test this breakthrough, which is among the most promising.
Peru, the second country in Latin America in cases behind Brazil and third in total deaths, will end Tuesday a national quarantine of more than 100 days, but It will maintain border closures and mandatory confinement in the seven regions most affected by the pandemic.
(Also read: Brazil closes agreement to produce Oxford vaccine against covid-19)
The quarantine will end in the capital, Lima, a city of 10 million inhabitants where the coronavirus is “descending”, according to the government, despite accumulating 70% of the country’s cases.
In Mexico, residents of a Chiapas community in the southeast destroyed a community hospital and set fire to two police cars and other vehicles, in addition to attacking the residences of local authorities, due to false rumors about the spread of the coronavirus.
Mandatory face mask in Iran
Acceleration is also taking place in Asia, with India leading the way, with nearly 120,000 cases reported in the past seven days, totaling more than 528,000.
And, according to experts, the peak of the disease will not be reached in this country of 1,300 million inhabitants for a few weeks, so the number of infected could exceed one million before the end of July.
In Iran, which with more than 10,000 deaths, is the country hardest hit by the virus in the Middle East, the mask will be mandatory in some public places starting next week and the most affected provinces may impose restrictions in the face of the increase in infections.
(Also: Covid-19: Bill Gates predicts a ‘bleaker’ picture for the world)
In its process of returning to a certain normality after months of confinement, several European countries held elections this weekend.
Europe seemed to have controlled the spread of the virus, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday of the increase in cases, which could push “European health systems back to the limit”.
AFP
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