Covid-19 cases in the Americas increased by 10.4 percent last week compared to the previous week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Wednesday.
Across the continent, \1.09 million new cases were registered, and 4,155 deaths. Cases in South America grew by 43.1 percent, the largest increase in the region, according to the PAHO, while the steepest rise in fatalities occurred in Central America, with 21.3 percent. Other respiratory viruses, such as influenza, monkeypox and acute childhood hepatitis, are also increasing in the region, and nations must pay close attention to these diseases, said the PAHO.
Meanwhile, Baja California Sur became the latest Mexican state to reintroduce restrictions due to rising Covid cases after seeing an 80-percent spike in cases in the past week.
An uptick in cases in Jalisco is no cause for alarm, say health authorities. Confirmed positive Covid-19 cases in the state increased from 119 on May 19, to 256 on June 1. However, the number of reported fatalities where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate has remained negligible, rarely rising above two per day during May.