Latin America named virus new epicenter

WASHINGTON－The World Health Organization declared Latin America "a new epicenter" of the coronavirus pandemic as US President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on state and local governments to speed up the reopening of the economy.

Surges in infections across much of Central and South America have driven the global case count to nearly 5.2 million, with more than 337,000 deaths, even as hard-hit Europe and the United States cautiously move into a recovery phase.

By Friday, the death toll in Brazil had soared to 21,048, and with 330,890 reported cases, the country overtook Russia to become the country with the second-largest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, just behind the United States. On Thursday, Brazil established another record by registering 1,188 deaths in one day.

Russia had registered 326,488 cases and 3,200 deaths by Friday.

"In a sense, South America has become a new epicenter for the disease," WHO Emergencies Director Mike Ryan said on Friday.

"We've seen many South American countries with increasing numbers of cases, ... but certainly the most affected is Brazil at this point."

Unlike in Europe and the US, where the elderly were hardest-hit, a significant number of deaths in Brazil have been younger people, who are often driven by poverty to work despite the threat of infection.

"Since Brazil has a younger population, it's normal for the number of cases to be higher among under-60s," said Mauro Sanchez, an epidemiologist at the University of Brasilia.

"What's perverse is that a lot of the people who are exposing themselves to the virus are doing it because they don't have a choice."

As the toll mounted, gravediggers at a cemetery outside Sao Paulo scrambled to keep up.

"We've been working 12-hour days, burying them one after the other," said one worker at Vila Formosa. "It doesn't stop."

Meanwhile, Peru on Friday extended its state of emergency and a nationwide lockdown to fight the pandemic until the end of June, marking one of the longest periods of mandatory isolation in the world.

Friday's extension, announced by President Martin Vizcarra, came as Peru's confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 111,698, the second highest total in Latin America. The death toll stood at 3,244 on Friday.

In Washington, Trump, keen to find a way out of the crisis and facing an uphill reelection battle, ramped up pressure on state and local governments to ease lockdown measures.

The pandemic has hammered the country's economy and led to calls for an end to virus restrictions, despite the COVID-19 numbers still rising in the US－the worst-hit country in the world with 1.6 million infections and 96,000 deaths.

Trump demanded state governors classify churches, synagogues and mosques as "essential services" on the same level as food and drugstores, and immediately allow them to hold services despite curbs on public gatherings.

Pushback from LA

There was pushback from the mayor of Los Angeles after the Trump administration warned that the continued lockdown in the city could be illegal.

"We are not guided by politics in this－we are guided by science, we are guided by collaboration," said Mayor Eric Garcetti.

In the latest step to restart the economy, the Trump administration said on Friday that it would exempt from entry bans foreign professional athletes competing in the top leagues for several sports, including basketball, tennis and golf.

"In today's environment, Americans need their sports," Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Homeland Security Department, said in a statement announcing the order.

"It's time to reopen the economy and it's time we get our professional athletes back to work."

Experts have warned that until a vaccine or treatment is developed for the virus, lockdown measures will persist in some form to prevent new waves of infections, a factor that has put immense pressure on economies.

The airline, travel and hospitality sectors have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, and car rental giant Hertz became the latest high-profile victim, announcing on Friday that it was filing for bankruptcy in the US and Canada.

Agencies - Xinhua