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 The region, which topped 200,000 deaths on Saturday, has struggled
to stall the spread of the novel coronavirus, with infections
picking up pace in many countries even as governments look to ease
lockdowns and revive economic growth.
Latin America, which has some 8% of the world's population, accounts
for close to 30% of global cases and fatalities, with infections
still spreading fast and hitting regional leaders like Brazil's Jair
Bolsonaro and Bolivia's Jeanine Anez.
Colombia in the last week passed 300,000 cases and 10,000
fatalities. Argentina, which had early success slowing the spread of
the virus, has seen a recent spike in infections. Five Latin
American countries are now in the global top 10 for cases, according
to a Reuters tally.
Brazil, the worst hit country in the region and the second-worst
worldwide, has over 2.73 million cases and more than 94,000 deaths.
The giant South American nation, which set a daily record for new
cases last week, posted a lower total of 25,800 cases on Sunday,
which looked likely to keep the wider region from breaching the 5
million mark until Monday.
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Mexico logged over 9,000 new infections from the virus on Saturday and is now
the country with the third most deaths worldwide.
Peru, which recently exceeded 400,000 cases, has seen a dangerous resurgence in
infections after relaxing quarantine restrictions in a bid to revive a collapsed
economy. It posted 7,448 cases on Saturday, the highest since late May.
Around the region, already brittle healthcare systems are straining or
overloaded, while economic growth is set to plunge around 9%, pushing up poverty
and unemployment.
(This story has been refiled to correct to "sees" in headline)
(Reporting by Adam Jourdan in Buenos Aires, Daniela Desantis in Asuncion and
Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota; Writing by Adam Jourdan; editing by Richard Pullin)
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