The coronavirus pandemic, which this Sunday exceeded 10 million infections in the world, continues to expand rapidly, especially in Latin America and the United States, that concentrates a quarter of the total cases.
Since it first emerged in China in December, the new coronavirus 498,779 lives have been claimed and the official number of accumulated contagions amounts to at least 10,003,942, according to an AFP count from official sources.
The rate of spread of the pandemic continues to be rapid, with one million new cases reported in just six days.
United States, the most punished country worldwide due to the disease, totaling 125,480 deaths and more than 2.5 million cases.
Contagions are increasing in 30 of its 50 states, particularly in the largest and most populous in the south and west, such as California, Texas and Florida.
In the last 24 hours, in Florida some 9,500 new ones were counted infections and 24 deaths.
The average age of infected people is now 33, compared to 65 two months ago.
Florida is facing a “real explosion” of the disease among young people who, thanks to lack of confidence since early June, have returned to the beaches and nightlife, Governor Ron DeSantis acknowledged this week.
In California, Disney announced the postponement of the premiere of the movie “Mulan”, than scheduled for July 24 to August 21.
– Agreement to produce the vaccine –
Brazil, the second country most mourned by the virus, returned on Saturday to announce the highest daily number of deaths in the world, and now totals more than 57,000 deaths and 1.3 million cases.
The South American giant reported an agreement to produce up to 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the British University of Oxford.
The country is helping to test this breakthrough, which is among the most promising.
Peru, the second country in Latin America in cases behind Brazil and third in total deaths, after Mexico, exceeded 9,000 deaths on Saturday.
On Tuesday, the country will end a national quarantine of more than 100 days, but will maintain border closures and mandatory confinement in the seven regions most affected by the pandemic.
The quarantine will end in the capital, Lima, a city of 10 million inhabitants where the coronavirus is “descending”, according to the government, despite accumulating 70% of the country’s cases.
In Mexico, inhabitants of a community in ChiapasIn the southeast, they destroyed a community hospital and burned two police cars and other vehicles, in addition to attacking the residences of local authorities, for false rumors about the expansion of the coronavirus.
Bolivia also set an unprecedented daily figure on Saturday, with more than 1,250 infections.
Latin america and caribbean It is the region of the world where the disease progresses most rapidly, with more than 400,000 additional cases in the last seven days, according to the AFP count.
– Mandatory mask in Iran –
Acceleration is also taking place in Asia, with India leading the way, with nearly 120,000 cases reported in the past seven days, totaling more than 528,000.
And, according to experts, the peak of the disease will not be reached in this country of 1.3 billion inhabitants for a few weeks, so the number of infected could exceed one million before the end of July.
In Iran, which with more than 10,000 deaths, is the country hardest hit by the virus in the Middle East, the mask will be mandatory in some public places starting next week and the most affected provinces may impose restrictions in the face of the increase in infections.
In its process of returning to a certain normality after months of confinement, several European countries held elections this weekend.
Iceland elected president on Saturday, and this Sunday Poland did. In France, the second round of the municipal elections, which was initially scheduled for March 22, was held this Sunday.
Europe seemed to have controlled the spread of the virus, yet the World Health Organization (WHO) He warned on Thursday of the increase in cases, which could push “European health systems back to the limit.”
To try to avoid a regrowth, some countries are re-imposing local containment measures.
In the United Kingdom, which is preparing to open pubs, restaurants and cinemas starting next Saturday, authorities could enact prevention measures in the city of Leicester given the increase in cases in recent weeks, according to local press.
– .
