The World Health Organization considers the Americas the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, and now is not the time for countries to ease restrictions, officials have said.
Carissa Etienne, WHO director for the Americas and head of the Pan-American Health Organization, said via video conference that outbreaks were accelerating in countries such as Brazil.
The number of deaths reported in Brazil in the last week was the highest in the world for a seven-day period since the Covid-19 outbreak began. The WHO says it expects cases to accelerate in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s executive director has said that “Right now, we’re not in the second wave. We’re right in the middle of the first wave globally.”
“We’re still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up,” Ryan was speaking to reporters, pointing to South America, South Asia and other areas where infections are still on the rise.
