COVID rising in the Americas, except in the US, Canada and Mexico

The Pan American Health Organization blamed the region’s leaders for an ineffective response to the pandemic.

Coronavirus infections are back on the rise in much of the Americas region after weeks of plateauing and decreasing in figures, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. While the United States, Canada and Mexico are reporting an overall decline in cases and deaths, PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said, the rest of the Americas is seeing a rise in new cases, deaths and hospitalisations amid stalled vaccination efforts. “Central America is reporting the highest number of deaths to date,” Etienne said during a weekly news briefing, and “one-third of hospitalised patients are in the ICUs [Intensive Care Units].”