Covid cases began to surge again in Latin America and the U.S., WHO officials say

July 19, 2021: -Thousands of protestors in Cuba took to the streets this week over frustrations with a crippled economy affected by food and power shortages. The protests, the largest the communist country has viewed since the 1990s, come as the government struggles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, pushing the island’s fragile healthcare system to the brink.

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Monday that Cubans were “tired of the mismanagement of the Cuban economy, tired of the lack of adequate food and an adequate response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The seven-day average of the recent cases in Cuba is up over fourfold over the last month to 5,659 in the previous seven days from an average of 1,256 a day in mid-June, according to CNBC’s analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The small island nation deaths have also increased from about ten a day a month ago to around 32, the data shows.

Overall, deaths and hospitalizations are coming down in South America in recent weeks. But with cases on the increase again, officials expect hospitalizations and deaths, which often lag by a few weeks, could soon follow.

According to Etienne, cases in Argentina and Colombia are at record highs as new infections surpass levels seen at the start of the pandemic. Nearby countries such as Honduras and Guatemala have not secured enough vaccine doses to immunize nearly 1% of their population, which could be disastrous if growing infections from nearby countries spill over, she said.

Colombia, along with Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti, is seeing situations where political unrest and waves of protests are making it more difficult for health workers and residents to be able to get lifesaving resources and maintain public to encourage the vaccinations.

“Growing violence, instability, and crowded shelters could become active hotspots for Covid transmission,” Etienne said.

“Limited supplies and violence are also hindering the ability of health workers to care for patients in need safely. In some cases, patients may be avoiding seeking to because of the safety concerns,” Etienne added.

PAHO officials are working on getting vaccines to Haiti, where the island hasn’t yet begun to vaccinate its residents even after allocating 760,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s doses through the COVAX Facility, a WHO-backed effort to distribute amounts to low-income nations across the world, according to The Washington Post. Violence erupted there after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in the previous week.

“Health and well-being must be prerequisites for reactivating the economy in the context of coronavirus because if the pandemic is not controlled, economic reactivation will be very difficult,” Etienne said.