PAHO: Covid-19 Deaths in Brazil Could Reach 88,300 in August

RIO DE JANEIRO ,BRAZIL – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Tuesday, May 26th, that there is an “exponential increase” of new cases of coronavirus in Brazil, projecting that the number of deaths may reach 88,300 in early August. The alert was made during a press conference with PAHO officials, among them its director, Carissa Etienne.

“In South America, we are particularly concerned that the number of new cases reported last week in Brazil was the highest for a seven-day period since the start of the pandemic,” Etienne said during the virtual meeting. She noted that Latin America has recently surpassed Europe and the United States in the number of new cases of the disease. “There is no doubt, our region (Latin America) has become the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

According to PAHO’s projection models, Etienne said that in North America there should be no substantial change in the picture for the coronavirus, although she predicted “a continued increase in the number of cases” in Mexico. In the Americas as a whole, “the new cases continue to increase,” she said.

Among the countries where the disease has progressed, the authority mentioned Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Venezuela, for instance. The PAHO also noted that Chile and Peru have proportionately more cases than Brazil, considering the size of their populations.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo