By Gbadamosi Oladimeji
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, declared Latin America “the new epicenter” of the coronavirus pandemic as President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on state and local governments to speed up the reopening of the reeling American economy.
The surge in infections across much of Central and South America have driven the number of global cases 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.
Also, the death toll in Brazil has soared past 20,000, and with 310,000 reported cases, it has the third-biggest caseload in the world behind the United States and Russia.
WHO emergencies Director, Mike Ryan, said on Friday that in a sense, South America has become a new epicenter for the disease.
“We’ve seen many South American countries with increasing numbers of cases… but certainly, the most affected is Brazil at this point,” he said.
A significant number of deaths in Brazil have been younger people, who are often driven by poverty to work despite the threat of the infection, unlike in Europe and the United States, where the elderly were hardest-hit.
Similarly, Mauro Sanchez, an epidemiologist at the University of Brasilia, said that since Brazil has a younger population, it’s normal for the number of cases to be higher among under-60s.
He explained further, that what is perverse about the new epicenter is that a most of the people who are exposing themselves to the virus are doing it because they do not 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. It doesn’t stop and we need more prayers,” said one worker at Vila Formosa, wearing a white protective suit, mask and face shield.
However, in Washington, President Trump, keen to find a way out of the crisis and facing an uphill re-election battle, ramped up pressure on state and local governments to ease lockdown measures.
This pandemic has hammered the American economy and led to calls for an end to movement restrictions, despite the COVID-19 numbers still rising in the United States, the worst-hit country in the world with 1.6 million infections and 96,000 deaths.
Recently, Trump demanded state governors classify churches, synagogues and mosques as “essential services” on the same level as food and drug stores, and immediately allow them to hold services despite curbs on public gatherings.
The president, who counts religious conservatives as a core of his electoral base, said the governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open.
“If they don’t do it, I will override the governors in America. We need more prayer, not less,” Trump added.
It was not clear whether he had any authority to override the governors.
However, 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 time but guided by science, we are guided by collaboration,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Trump’s administration in the latest step to restart the economy, said on Friday, that he would exempt people from entry, and banned foreign professional athletes competing in the top leagues for several sports, including basketball, tennis and golf.
Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Homeland Security department, said in a statement announcing the order, “In today’s environment, Americans need their sports.
“It’s time to reopen the economy and it’s time we get our professional athletes back to work.” He said.
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.
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 Friday that it was filing for bankruptcy in the United States and Canada.
The bankruptcy filing excludes its main international operations, including Europe, where many nations are opening up their economies cautiously after slowing the spread of the virus.
Also France had decided that it was safe to hold a delayed second round of municipal elections on June 28, and Czech Republic has said the epidemic remains contained there, two weeks after shopping malls, cinemas and restaurant terraces reopened.
Meanwhile, Serbia has stated that the Exit Festival in Novi Sad, one of Europe’s biggest music events could go ahead in August as planned, and in Italy Florence’s famous Duomo cathedral reopened to the public.
However, authorities are still keen to avoid opening up too fast, with a surge in Russia illustrating how quickly the deadly disease can spread.
Russia has so far recorded 3,249 deaths with a caseload of more 325,000 infections, second only to the United States.
“The seriously ills are building up and doctors try to save each one who lies there for two, three or more weeks. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to save them all,” said Moscow Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.
