Nearly 7.2 Million Infected with Covid-19 in the Americas

This Wednesday, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported almost 7.2 million new infections in the region during the last week due to SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19.

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At a press conference, the Director-General of the organization, Clarissa Étienne, stated that the number of cases continued to rise and reached another peak while regretting more than 15,000 deaths related to the disease.

In the north of the continent, the United States and Canada repeated an increase in hospitalizations. On the other hand, the Caribbean islands recorded the sharpest increase in infections since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the director.

Martinique raised the figure by more than 600 percent and St. Marten exceeded it by more than 135 percent, said Étienne, who stated that cases had at least doubled in more than 17 countries and territories.

She described the situation as particularly worrying because hospital capacity in many of these states remains limited, she said.

 Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras reported the highest numbers in Central America, with more than double the number of positives during the last week, the PAHO chief noted.

She emphasized that coronavirus infections accelerated in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia, noting that admissions to health institutions also increased in Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.

"Although infections of the Omicron variant appear to be milder, we reiterate the call for caution as the disease is spreading more actively than ever," she warned. 

She said it is essential to protect health systems so that people in need of care can count on them, and added that the best way is to vaccinate against Covid-19 when the time comes, thus concluding the first part of her address.