Trending
News Elementor
RECENT NEWS
Emonews
Emonews
| WASHINGTON, D.C. July 14, 2021 (PAHO) β New COVID-19 cases spiked in Central America, the Caribbean and some South America countries last week, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne reported. βCases rise when complacency sets in,β she warned during a press briefing. βWe are all tired, but after experiencing successive peaks of infections in the same locations, we must break this cycle by embracing public health measures early and consistently.β Cases are increasing in Central American countries, including El Salvador and Guatemala, where COVID deaths have also surged. New infections are spiking in the Caribbean, where Cuba has reported the highest number of weekly cases since the start of the pandemic. In the British Virgin Islands, cases have tripled in the weeks after reopening to cruise ships. And in Mexico and the United States, infections are rising. But creating a βmixed pictureβ of the virusβs trajectory, new COVID-19 infections declined overall by nearly 20% in the Americas last week as the pandemic eased in much of South America. βCOVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths are dropping across most of the continent, including in Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Chile,β Dr. Etienne said. She added, however, that cases are rising in Argentina and reaching their highest levels in Colombia, βraising concerns about the health systemβs ability to cope as 98% of ICU beds are already in use.β βWhen variants of concern circulate,β she continued, βitβs even more important that countries step up surveillance, especially while vaccine coverage remains low.β In total, the Americas has reported nearly 74 million COVID-19 cases and 1.9 million deaths β more than a third of COVID cases and more than 40% of deaths reported globally. Dr. Etienne also warned that the pandemic is creating serious social and economic impacts. βCOVID-19 has not just ravaged our health systems, it has fractured social protection programs and destabilized our economies,β she said, drawing attention to a new study from the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The study reported that more than 7 million companies have closed amid the pandemic. βWe urge countries to continue prioritizing health and social safety nets as part of their COVID response and as they turn their sights to COVID recovery,β she added. PAHO commitment to Haiti Dr Etienne expressed particular concern about Haiti, where βthousands of peopleβ have been displaced by violence and instability and βcrowded shelters could become active hot spots for COVID transmission.β βPAHO, along with other partners, is committed to supporting the Haitian people in these uncertain times and urges other international organizations to join us in supporting the COVID response,β she said. In recent weeks, PAHO has delivered personal protective equipment to Haiti, helped expand care for COVID-19 patients, and provided thousands of tests and laboratory materials. PAHO has also helped train community health workers and supported the Ministry of Health in preparing for vaccine introduction and setting up new systems to dispel rumors. Access to vaccines Vaccines continue to be inaccessible for many in Latin America and the Caribbean. βMoney, more than public health, has determined how quickly countries can secure the tools they need to combat this virus,β Dr. Etienne said. βAs countries that struck deals with vaccine manufacturers pull further ahead, vaccination coverage continues to linger in the single digits for much of our region.β While 58% of Chileβs population are fully protected against COVID and in Uruguay 55% are protected, Paraguay and Jamaica have fully vaccinated less than 3% of their populations. Honduras and Guatemala have yet to vaccinate 1% of their populations. Calling attention to the U.S governmentβs donation of nearly 12 million vaccine doses to countries in the Americas, Dr. Etienne said that more are on their way with PAHOβs help. βThese vaccines are bringing hope to countries that would otherwise have to wait months to secure even a fraction of these doses,β she said. βThatβs why we continue to urge donors and countries with surplus vaccines to share them with our region. This remains the only way for many countries in our region to secure the doses they need, quickly.β |
| Links Press Briefing PAHO COVID-19 – AUDIO ORIGINAL https://youtu.be/Xkqpuhlak_M Press Briefing PAHO COVID-19 – AUDIO ENGLISH https://youtu.be/0sqoWUSWQC4 Conferencia de Prensa OPS COVID-19 – AUDIO ESPAΓOL https://youtu.be/oxPsulLqXto Colectiva de Imprensa OPAS – COVID-19 – AUDIO PORTUGUΓS https://youtu.be/0bwngVsCR_A Press Briefing PAHO COVID-19 – AUDIO FRENCH https://youtu.be/2A3NyTjkn9I Director’s Remarks: |
| WASHINGTON, D.C. July 14, 2021 (PAHO) β New COVID-19 cases spiked in Central America, the Caribbean and some South America countries last week, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne reported. βCases rise when complacency sets in,β she warned during a press briefing. βWe are all tired, but after experiencing successive peaks of infections in the same locations, we must break this cycle by embracing public health measures early and consistently.β Cases are increasing in Central American countries, including El Salvador and Guatemala, where COVID deaths have also surged. New infections are spiking in the Caribbean, where Cuba has reported the highest number of weekly cases since the start of the pandemic. In the British Virgin Islands, cases have tripled in the weeks after reopening to cruise ships. And in Mexico and the United States, infections are rising. But creating a βmixed pictureβ of the virusβs trajectory, new COVID-19 infections declined overall by nearly 20% in the Americas last week as the pandemic eased in much of South America. βCOVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths are dropping across most of the continent, including in Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Chile,β Dr. Etienne said. She added, however, that cases are rising in Argentina and reaching their highest levels in Colombia, βraising concerns about the health systemβs ability to cope as 98% of ICU beds are already in use.β βWhen variants of concern circulate,β she continued, βitβs even more important that countries step up surveillance, especially while vaccine coverage remains low.β In total, the Americas has reported nearly 74 million COVID-19 cases and 1.9 million deaths β more than a third of COVID cases and more than 40% of deaths reported globally. Dr. Etienne also warned that the pandemic is creating serious social and economic impacts. βCOVID-19 has not just ravaged our health systems, it has fractured social protection programs and destabilized our economies,β she said, drawing attention to a new study from the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The study reported that more than 7 million companies have closed amid the pandemic. βWe urge countries to continue prioritizing health and social safety nets as part of their COVID response and as they turn their sights to COVID recovery,β she added. PAHO commitment to Haiti Dr Etienne expressed particular concern about Haiti, where βthousands of peopleβ have been displaced by violence and instability and βcrowded shelters could become active hot spots for COVID transmission.β βPAHO, along with other partners, is committed to supporting the Haitian people in these uncertain times and urges other international organizations to join us in supporting the COVID response,β she said. In recent weeks, PAHO has delivered personal protective equipment to Haiti, helped expand care for COVID-19 patients, and provided thousands of tests and laboratory materials. PAHO has also helped train community health workers and supported the Ministry of Health in preparing for vaccine introduction and setting up new systems to dispel rumors. Access to vaccines Vaccines continue to be inaccessible for many in Latin America and the Caribbean. βMoney, more than public health, has determined how quickly countries can secure the tools they need to combat this virus,β Dr. Etienne said. βAs countries that struck deals with vaccine manufacturers pull further ahead, vaccination coverage continues to linger in the single digits for much of our region.β While 58% of Chileβs population are fully protected against COVID and in Uruguay 55% are protected, Paraguay and Jamaica have fully vaccinated less than 3% of their populations. Honduras and Guatemala have yet to vaccinate 1% of their populations. Calling attention to the U.S governmentβs donation of nearly 12 million vaccine doses to countries in the Americas, Dr. Etienne said that more are on their way with PAHOβs help. βThese vaccines are bringing hope to countries that would otherwise have to wait months to secure even a fraction of these doses,β she said. βThatβs why we continue to urge donors and countries with surplus vaccines to share them with our region. This remains the only way for many countries in our region to secure the doses they need, quickly.β |
| Links Press Briefing PAHO COVID-19 – AUDIO ORIGINAL https://youtu.be/Xkqpuhlak_M Press Briefing PAHO COVID-19 – AUDIO ENGLISH https://youtu.be/0sqoWUSWQC4 Conferencia de Prensa OPS COVID-19 – AUDIO ESPAΓOL https://youtu.be/oxPsulLqXto Colectiva de Imprensa OPAS – COVID-19 – AUDIO PORTUGUΓS https://youtu.be/0bwngVsCR_A Press Briefing PAHO COVID-19 – AUDIO FRENCH https://youtu.be/2A3NyTjkn9I Director’s Remarks: |
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
Weβre excited to introduce Emonew, Dominicaβs fresh new source for general country news. From community updates to national stories, weβre here to keep you informed, connected, and up to date.
Copyright Emonews 2025
