BRASILIA (Reuters) – More than 100,000 cases of C0VID-19 are reported in the Americas, part of them in the United States, and peaks of concern are occurring in countries where outbreaks have been controlled, such as Argentina and Colombia, World Health Organization, regional director Carissa Etienne said Tuesday.
“Our region remains under COVID protection,” Etienne said at a virtual briefing in Washington with other administrators of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The United States reported around five million cases and Brazil, with the world’s second-worst epidemic, recorded more than 100,000 deaths.
She said there is a buildup of cases in Central America, where Belize reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections this week. The Dominican Republic has more cases than all other Caribbean island nations combined.
Etienne said fitness strain strain threatened controlled diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and hepatitis, and that more people would die from preventable and treatable diseases.
PAHO has evidence that 30% of others living with HIV, a preventable and treatable virus, avoid seeking care during the pandemic, and countries have limited antiretroviral materials, he said.
“This is a concern because without ongoing care and consistent medications, other people living with HIV are more likely to be in poor health and pass it on to their partners,” he said.
However, cases of mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, have declined as other people become trapped in their homes by the pandemic and are less likely to be bitten by mosquitoes.
Health systems deserve to facilitate the treatment of patients through telemedicine and provide more care in outdoor hospitals, Etienne said.
Reports by Anthony Boadle; Edited through Chizu Nomiyama and Grant McCool
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