Brazil has fourth-largest COVID-19 outbreak in world

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Brazil became the country with the fourth-largest number of coronavirus cases in the world, surpassing former hotspots Spain and Italy.

According to the Johns Hopkins University tally, as of Monday the country reports 250,000 cases and more than 16,000 deaths, exceeded only by the US, Russia and the UK narrowly. Health experts say the real number of cases could be higher in Brazil because of lack of testing.

Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon, has had to resort to mass graves to accommodate the bodies, and Sao Paulo's hospitals have reached 90% capacity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

During the weekend, President Jair Bolsonaro slammed lockdown measures once again. Bolsonaro participated on Sunday in a demonstration in Brazil, took off his mask, addressed his supporters and posed for pictures with kids.

"This is a pure manifestation of democracy. I'm really honored by this," he said of the crowd of supporters who defied stay-at-home orders.

Last week, Brazilian Health Minister Nelson Teich resigned after less than a month in the job. While Bolsonaro called for the widespread use of drugs such as chloroquine to fight the virus, Teich did not approve its use in all patients.

"Chlo-ro-quine! Chlo-ro-quine!" chanted Bolsonaro's supporters outside the presidential palace in Sunday, as well as "We want to work!"

- Latin America nations

Latin America is now at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak. The region has recorded more than 520,000 infections, with Brazil accounting for nearly 50% of the cases.

Peru is next with 92,273 cases and 2,648 fatalities, followed by Mexico, which has recently seen a spike in new infections.

In cities all over Mexico funeral homes are jammed and the hospitals are so overcrowded that many patients have been turned away. The country has reported 49,219 cases and 5,177 deaths.

The Chilean Health Ministry reported on Sunday that in the last 24 hours there were 29 deaths, a record number of daily deaths from COVID-19 in the country, bringing the total number of deaths to 450 and the number of cases to 43,781.

The number of deaths rose to 2,736 on Monday in Ecuador in a week in which the country is taking its first steps towards opening different sectors of economy.

Colombia is working with Brazil to fight an increasing number of coronavirus cases in the area. The coronavirus has left 1,003 infections and 35 deaths in Leticia, the capital of the Colombian Amazonas, where there is only one hospital with deficient medical infrastructure.

During the weekend, the government flew several high-risk patients back to Bogota to receive better care. Colombia has 15,574 cases and 574 deaths.

The Dominican Republic has more than 12,300 people infected with the coronavirus and so far 428 have died from the disease.