COVID-19 cases and deaths fall in North and South America, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday, with infections down 2.3 percent last week and deaths down 15.2 percent from the previous week. , but in Canada the number of patients with the virus is increasing.
The broad downward trend in North and South America comes even as cases increased in North America by 11.2% last week, the organization said, noting that in Canada hospitalizations had increased by more than 20% as a share of Omicron BA . 2 cases increased.
In Ontario, 1,662 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Wednesday, nearly 12 percent more than the day before.
Because access to PCR testing is limited, the scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Advisory Panel said that wastewater monitoring suggests the province sees between 100,000 and 120,000 new cases each day.
Alberta wastewater readings are also increasing, indicating that new COVID-19 infections are on the rise as the Omicron BA.2 subvariant becomes the dominant strain of the disease in the province, while Newfoundland and Labrador report their largest increases. of the number of deaths from COVID -19 on Wednesday.
A man wears a face mask in defense of COVID-19 in Toronto on April 12. The virus is on the rise in the sixth wave of the Ontario pandemic, as well as elsewhere in Canada. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
According to the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, all key indicators are on an upward trend.
The number of new cases reported from April 3 to 9 increased by 13 percent, while the number of deaths reported for the same period increased by 24 percent.
With just over 50,000 tests performed in Canada in the same week, the pass rate was 18.9 percent.
Caribbean countries are also jumping
As borders reopened and tourism increased, so did some Caribbean countries and territories, such as Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Barbados and Saint Martin, with the largest relative increases.
“However, large-scale deaths and deaths are declining in North and South America,” PAHO Director Dr Carissa Etienne told a news briefing.
She stressed the need to consolidate high levels of vaccination in North and South America and noted that 14 countries have already achieved the World Health Organization’s goal of full immunization of 70 percent of its population by June 30.
With many travel restrictions and pandemics lifted in the Caribbean, people are flocking to the beaches again, including here in Veracruz, Mexico, on April 16th. (Jahir Sebalos / Reuters)
“The separation of mortality and new infections is proof that vaccines work well to protect people from hospitalization and death from COVID-19,” Etienne said.
On Monday, a U.S. federal judge in Florida revoked the country’s mandate for public transportation masks. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently extended its term, which was due to expire on Monday, to May 3, to give more time to study the sub-option, which is now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the United States. The court decision postponed that decision.
Travelers, some in masks, are queuing at a Delta Airlines counter in Boston on Tuesday after a federal judge in Florida revoked a mandate to disguise public transportation in the country. (Brian Snyder / Reuters)
After a winter surge fueled by the Omicron variant, which sparked record hospitalizations, the United States has seen a significant drop in the spread of the virus in recent months, prompting most states and cities to relinquish mask mandates.
But several northeastern cities have seen an increase in hospitalizations in recent weeks.
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