The Pan American Health Organization’s top health official said that the Americas are still “under the grip of Covid-19” as the number of cases remains high.
According to Carissa Etienne, director of PAHO and WHO regional director for the Americas, US accounts for more than half of the case load.
She mentioned the region’s expanding number of coronavirus cases during a news briefing, saying this puts Americas “under the grip of Covid-19.”
The Americas have been recording more than 100,000 new coronavirus infections each day.
She said that the PAHO has detected disturbing surges in Covid-19 cases in countries that were once able to contain their outbreaks, such as Argentina and Colombia, as well as an expansion in cases in Central America.
Etienne considers the Dominican Republic as critical area because it is reporting more cases than all other island nations in the Caribbean.
“These numbers make it clear that our region remains under the grip of Covid-19,” Etienne said.
Worst outbreak in the world
According to Johns Hopkins University data, the US exceeded 5 million cases of reported Covid-19 cases on Sunday, considered as the worst outbreak in the world with about a quarter of the world’s 20 million cases. Meanwhile, Brazil has the second-most number of cases, with a record of over 3 million cases.
Together, the US, Brazil, and Mexico have recorded more than 40% of the world’s more than 737,000 reported Covid-19 deaths, based on the data compiled by Johns Hopkins.
Etienne pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the region’s capability to contain other communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV, and hepatitis. She added that more than 80% of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing difficulties in managing tuberculosis treatments.
“If patients skip doses or interrupt their treatment, a manageable condition can quickly turn into an active infection that threatens not only the patient but also their family and close acquaintances,” Etienne said.
She urged young people to continue observing recommended public health measures to slow down the spread of the virus, saying they can still transmit the virus to others who may be more vulnerable. She noted that the PAHO has detected over 200,000 confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus in adolescence, 10,000 hospitalizations, and over 200 deaths as of July.
“Young people are not immune to Covid-19. They, young people, do not have special powers against Covid-19,” she said.
Under control
However, President Donald Trump reiterated that the coronavirus pandemic in the US is “under control” amid increasing death tolls from the infection.
In an interview with Trump, Axios’ Jonathan Swan asked the president about how his administration is handling the virus that kills 1,000 Americans a day.
“They are dying. That’s true, and — it is what it is,” Trump said. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control as much as you can control it,” Trump said in the interview, which took place July 28 and aired Monday night on HBO.
Meanwhile, House democrats criticize Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“President Trump’s deadly denial, distortion and delay has led to the worst federal response to a national emergency in our history,” according to the report “A Failure to Lead: The Trump administration’s Disastrous Response to the Coronaviurs Pandemic." “His actions are directly responsible for tens of thousands of needless deaths, tens of millions of people out of work, and mass confusion that has crippled our nation’s response.”
