COVID cases spike in Americas, South America worst hit -PAHO

COVID-19 cases in the Americas rose about 14% last week from the previous one, with 1.3 million new cases and 4,158 new deaths reported, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

COVID-19 cases in the Americas rose about 14% last week from the previous one, with 1.3 million new cases and 4,158 new deaths reported, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. South America was the worst affected, with an increased COVID death rate up 32.8% from previous week, according to PAHO Director Dr. Carissa Etienne.

"In South America, there has been a significant increase in COVID-19 incidence, with almost half a million new COVID-19 cases reported during the last week - a 24.6% increase compared to the previous week," Etienne said in a press briefing. The largest rise in infections were reported in Bolivia followed by Peru.

North America saw an increase of 7.7% compared to the previous week despite a drop in cases in Canada, as the United States and Mexico are trending in the opposite direction, PAHO said.