(Updates with information and quotes from the press conference. Add author’s signature)
By Steven Grattan
Jul 13 (Reuters) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned on Wednesday of rising cases of COVID-19 caused by highly infectious omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, despite overall numbers in the Americas they have fallen.
In the region there were 1,562,967 new cases of COVID-19 last week, which represents a drop of 0.9%, PAHO said at a press conference, while the death toll fell 3.5% to 4,789 people.
However, PAHO director Dr. Carissa Etienne warned that omicron subvariants, now dominant in the United States and other countries, “were generating new infections in the Americas.”
“The appearance of BA.4 and BA.5 is another reminder that the virus continues to evolve each time it is transmitted and that we must be vigilant,” he added.
Etienne urged countries in the Americas to reintroduce public health measures, such as the use of masks and social distancing, when cases increase.
“The virus knows no borders, especially now that international travel has resumed. We must use every tool at our disposal to protect ourselves, particularly those most vulnerable to severe illness and death,” he said.
Compared to the previous week, COVID-19 cases rose 2% in South America and 55% in Central America, while they fell 5.2% in the Caribbean and 4.5% in North America.
Deaths linked to COVID-19 increased by 14.2% in South America, while they fell in the other three subregions of the continent, PAHO said. (Reporting by Steven Grattan in Mexico City. Editing in Spanish by Lucila Sigal)
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