BUENOS AIRES — Latin America and the Caribbean has now recorded more than half a million coronavirus infections, according to an Agence France-Press tally based on official reports.
Almost half have been recorded in Brazil – the country worst-hit by the pandemic in the region – which also has more than 15,000 deaths.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of Covid-19 infections. Many countries are testing only the most serious cases.
More than 4.6 million people have been infected around the world since the virus first appeared in China late last year.
At least 309,000 have died from the disease and more than 1.6 million have recovered.
ARGENTINA LEADS IN LATIN AMERICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IN THE CARIBBEAN
On Saturday evening, Health Ministry officials confirmed that 327 new cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed in Argentina over the last 24 hours, lifting the total number of infections since the pandemic began to 7,805.
More than 80 percent of all cases have been registered in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, taking in the capital and its surroundings.
Officials say 12 percent of all cases are considered “imported,” with 44.6 percent a result of coming into close contact with someone with the virus.
About 30 percent are a result of “community transmission,” with the rest under investigation.
No more fatalities have been registered since Friday, leaving the death toll from the virus at 363.
In the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic had 12,110 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of today with 428 deaths. So far, 3,726 people have recovered there.
—AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/brazil-overtakes-spain-italy-number-covid-cases