Friday, Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed 1 million coronavirus-related deaths. The grim milestone comes as COVID-19 outbreaks continue to spiral out of control across the region and vaccination campaigns continue to stall, reported NBC News.
How bad are the outbreaks in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Latin America and the Caribbean have about 8% of the world’s population. However, the region accounts for 29% of all coronavirus fatalities worldwide, CBS News reported.
- Last week, the top eight countries with the most COVID-19 deaths were all in Latin America, NBC News said.
In Europe, North America and Asia, COVID-19 cases per capita have begun to fall. In India, the country is currently battling one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the entire pandemic while in Africa, the trend has flattened. South America remains the only region where cases per capita have continued to rise, NBC News said.
What countries have been hardest hit?
Of the region’s 1 million deaths, almost 90% of all COVID-19 deaths came from only five countries in the region, reported The Washington Post:
- Brazil accounts for 44% of the region’s deaths, a staggering 446,000 COVID-19 deaths, the second-highest death count in the world, said CBS News.
- Mexico accounts for 22% of the region’s deaths or about 221,000 COVID-19 deaths, the fourth-highest in the world. However, on Sunday, Mexico reported its lowest daily coronavirus death toll in over a year, reported The Washington Post.
- Colombia accounts for 8% of the region's deaths with weeks of anti-government protests prolonging peak coronavirus outbreaks, said The Washington Post.
- Argentina accounts for 7% of the region’s deaths, reported The Washington Post.
- Peru accounts for almost 7% of the region’s deaths, according to The Washington Post.
Last year, the small South American country of Uruguay was considered the exception to devastating COVID-19 outbreaks. However, Uruguay now has one of the highest death rates in the world, reported The Washington Post.
Why has COVID-19 gotten so bad in Latin America?
According to The Washington Post, there is no simple answer to what went wrong in Latin America. Countries of all incomes led by all types of governments have struggled to contain their coronavirus outbreaks.
- Vaccination campaigns have lagged as leaders failed to secure vaccine supplies; less than 3% of the region’s population has been vaccinated, said NBC News and The Washington Post.
- Most health care systems are underfunded and rely primarily on imported medical supplies, reported CBS News.
- Large percentages of Latin American people live in poverty, preventing many countries from being able to enter strict nationwide lockdowns, reported The New York Post.
The Pan American Health Organization put out a statement Friday per CBS News, saying “This pandemic is far from over, and it is hitting Latin America and the Caribbean severely, affecting our health, our economies, and entire societies.”