Latin America Coronavirus Update: Brazil And Mexico On The Brink Of Collapse With 245,760 COVID-19 Cases

Mexico and Brazil’s alarming spike in the coronavirus cases has piqued across Latin America. The uncertainty surrounding the pandemic’s surge compounded by the Mexican and Brazilian government’s muddled approach is compelling residents to lose faith in their leaders.

Not too long ago, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro garnered severe backlash for downplaying the severity of the global health crisis and terming COVID-19 as “a little flu.” Bolsonaro reportedly overlooked the health warnings of his own ministry at the onset of the outbreak and showcasing absolute disregard engaged in shaking hands with his supporters. The right-wing politician has reiterated the need for the economy to get back and running, despite the increasing death toll since the outbreak.

Currently, Brazil stands at 12,461 deaths and 178,214 cases. A spike in 881 cases was recorded on Tuesday. What’s even concerning to note is that despite being one of the hardest-hit countries in Latin America, Brazil has imposed restrictions only on select cities. Despite 27 governors of the country have expressed disapproval in their president’s ineptitude, they haven’t gone ahead with imposing restrictions. The decision was left to mayors or adhered to the Bolsonaro government’s orders on selective restrictions.

In a rather heart-wrenching incident on International Nurses Day, nurses in Brasilia paid obeisance to 109 colleagues, who lost lives on duty while saving lives in the battle against the COVID019 by laying on their backs on the ground, with the names of the deceased front line workers emblazoned on their coats. Bolsonaro, despite having offered warm wishes to nurses fighting on the frontline, turned a blind eye toward the whole move.

Incidentally, Mexico saw a similar spike on Tuesday—353 new deaths, with the total number of new cases leading up to 1,997. Mexican government irked its people upon expressing their desire to reopen the economy amid such circumstances. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his government have been accused of downplaying the effects of the pandemic and undercounting the death toll and cases tested positive. Fuelling the speculations, Jorge Alcocer, the health secretary stated: “Let’s move toward this new mortality,” at a recent press briefing.

Dr. Alejandro Macías, Mexico’s former flu commissioner took to Twitter to express his concerns after the new stats were released on Tuesday: “It’s the largest number until now and shows we are still on the increase … It’s likely we haven’t seen the worst. The United States, a country with three times the population, has already registered 20 times more deaths,” he tweeted.