South America and Asia continue to be regions with the worst numbers of coronavirus infections

The unstoppable rise in coronavirus infections in South America has spawned new case records in some countries, near full occupancy of intensive care beds in others, tightening restrictions and shifting demographics in three Southern states of Brazil due to the surpassing of deaths by births, while Asia is also suffering from a severe wave of infections.

The Brazilian states of Paran, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, which supported Jair Bolsonaro in the 2018 elections, have been in a health collapse since February, but now they’ve added a central piece of data: For the first time in four decades, they recorded more deaths than births, according to data from the National Association for the Registration of Persons physical (Arpen).

ChileAt the same time, it recorded a daily record with 9,171 new cases, confirming that the country is going through a critical moment of the pandemic.

In addition to surpassing 9,000 infections for the first time, deaths in Chile were 129 last year, according to the health ministry, whose chief Enrique Paris warned the country “You are living at a critical moment”, for which he urged “to respect the quarantine and reduce mobility”.

For its part, Through extended until Sunday 18 the package of measures implemented to cushion the pandemic, as the country approaches 54,000 deaths from Covid-19 and two days before Sunday’s general elections.

In a press conference, the president of the Council of Ministers, Violeta Bermdez, explained that the cabinet had decided to “extend the current measures”, which include the restriction of traffic at night, the closing of shops at a certain time or capacity limitation, among others. .

Even if Paraguay The number of beds in intensive care units (ICU) has doubled in a year, it is now 100% occupied and it is estimated that there are around a hundred patients waiting for a place in therapy, according to the director of Redes and Health Services. , Leticia Pintos.

The country has 227,116 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 4,584 deaths, but the restrictions imposed by the government, in addition to being insufficient – according to medical and professional organizations – are very relatively respected.

Cuba also called for extreme caution through its Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, who warned of the islanders’ “very low risk perception” at a time when the third epidemic remains high throughout the territory , which forced the Government to strengthen containment measures.

Cuba had 1,017 new infections, including 5,112 active cases nationwide. The island has so far recorded 84,532 people infected since the start of the pandemic, with 448 deaths.

The situation is no less serious in several Asian countries, to the point that the Japanese and South Korean authorities have tightened and extended restrictive and distancing measures.

Asia

The Japanese government has authorized the governors of the prefectures of Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa to tighten restrictions until May, as a last resort before declaring a state of emergency, if these new measures fail.

This new package of measures also aims to ensure a more stable situation in view of the opening of the 2021 Olympic Games on July 23.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye Kyun, meanwhile, announced that the country’s social distancing measures would be extended for another three weeks, which includes a ban on meetings of five or more people across the country. territory.

Sye Kyun also explained that other additional measures will be added to the measures already in force as of Monday and that, in the region of Salt and Busan, the hardest hit by the health crisis, bars and nightclubs will be closed, and the curfew will be closed. It applies to other establishments, such as cafes or gyms, it is brought forward from 10 p.m. to 9 p.m.

ChinaAt the same time, it reported 33 new cases detected on the last day, eight of which correspond to the epidemic recorded in Yunnan province and 25 abroad.

Meanwhile, the Iranian government reported more than 22,000 cases for the second day in a row and said the death toll has exceeded 64,000 since the start of the pandemic.

Also Cambodia released its maximum number of infections, 575, since the start of the pandemic, so the executive has imposed new restrictions, such as a ban on travel between provinces and an order to close tourist resorts during 14 days.

Europe

In Europe, meanwhile, Italy added 718 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest figure so far this year, as the balance since the start of the pandemic stands at 113,579 fatal cases, and Spain has notified 5,397 new victims (a figure almost identical to that of yesterday) the total number of people with Covid-19 since March 2020 to 3,347,512.

The German government, in turn, will adopt a plan next week to strengthen health legislation to fight the coronavirus and impose measures across the country by circumventing regional resistance, AFP news agency reported.

“Germany he remains the prey of the pandemic; the number of infections continues to increase, as does the number of patients in intensive care, ”Ulrike Demmer, one of Angela Merkel’s government spokespersons, told reporters.

The reform will make it possible to jump, if necessary, regional or local resistance at a time when the country is hit by the third wave of infections.

Finally, Russia confirmed more than 400 deaths in the last day, with which the Eurasian country exceeds the threshold of 102,000 deaths, according to data from the national operational center for the fight against the coronavirus, collected by the Sputnik agency.