A record number of new coronavirus infections were recorded in Brazil on Wednesday, with the Ministry of Health announcing that 115,228 cases of SARS-CoV-2 had been confirmed in the laboratory.
Another 2,392 patients with COVID-19 died in the same 24 hours.
The largest country in Latin America, with a population of 212 million, has so far recorded 507,109 deaths out of a total of 18,169,881 virus infections since the pandemic broke out in its territory. Brazil is the country with the second heaviest pandemic in the world, behind the United States alone, which mourns more than 600,000 dead. And remarkably, Brazilian experts characterize the official numbers as very underestimated.
Experts have been warning for months that the country was in danger of being hit by a third wave, which may prove even more deadly than the previous ones.
The number of infections confirmed on a daily basis has been on the rise for over a month. The death toll averages around 2,000 a day from last week.
“With this continuous increase in the number of cases, we are already affected by the third wave,” Carlos Lula, chairman of the National Council of Health Ministers (CONASS), the coordinating body of Brazilian health authorities, told the Globo newspaper on Monday.
According to the latest epidemiological bulletin of the public reporting institute Fiocruz, the situation is critical in 19 of the 27 states of the country, with the occupancy rate in intensive care units (ICU) over 80% and, in eight of them, over even by 90%.
As for the immunization campaign, it continues to proceed at a still slow pace: 30.7% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine, 11.36% both and is therefore considered to have been fully vaccinated.
In Sao Paulo, the largest city in the country, the vaccination was forcibly stopped the day before yesterday, Tuesday, due to the lack of available doses, before it resumed yesterday, Wednesday.
Health officials hope they can pick up the pace thanks to recent deliveries of vaccine doses, including 1.5 million doses of Janssen’s single dose, which arrived on Tuesday.
Cuba: Record 2,055 cases and 13 deaths in 24 hours
The Cuban Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that 2,055 cases of SARS-CoV-2, the highest number of outbreaks of the new coronavirus in the country, had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, while another 13 patients with COVID-19 had died.
The number of pandemic victims in the Caribbean has reached this stage with 1,193 deaths out of a total of 172,909 infections.
The number of patients in hospitals increased to 9,129, which is also a record 15 months of the health crisis.
The western province of Mayabeke now ranks first in the country in terms of incidence, as it has surpassed the capital Havana with 296.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
A mass immunization campaign has been under way in the capital since May with the two most advanced vaccines being developed domestically, Soberana 2 and Abdala. Authorities want its population of 2.2 million to be immunized by the end of July. Vaccinations are also carried out in the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba and Isla de Hovendud. More than 2.27 million citizens have received a dose. A total of some 4.97 million doses have been administered.
Havana wants 70% of Cuba’s 11.2 million people vaccinated in August and virtually the entire population by the end of the year.
Under a US embargo since 1962, Cuba began developing its own vaccines in the 1980s. Of the 13 vaccines used under the national immunization program, eight are produced in the country.
Tunisia: Record 3,638 cases and 95 deaths in 24 hours
The Tunisian Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that 3,638 cases of SARS-CoV-2 had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, an unprecedented number since the outbreak of the pandemic in Tunisia, with the total number of people infected in the Arab country reaching 391.4 .
The deaths of another 95 patients with COVID-19 have raised the death toll from a pandemic in the North African state to 14,318 so far, according to official figures.
Mexico: Another 342 deaths and nearly 5,000 cases in 24 hours
The Mexican Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that another 342 COVID-19 patients had died in the past 24 hours and another 4,963 cases of SARS-CoV-2 had been confirmed.
The death toll from the new coronavirus pandemic in the country of 126 million has reached 231,847 deaths out of a total of 2,487,747 infections, according to official figures.
The Mexican government, however, acknowledges that the official account is undervalued. Data on excess mortality released by the Ministry of Health in March showed that deaths due to COVID-19 are at least 60% more than confirmed.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
