Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update (20 – 26 September 2021) As of 27 September 2021 – Mexico – ReliefWeb

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN: MIGRANTS & REFUGEES

MEXICOMexican officials report they will begin deporting detained Haitian migrants who have not yet applied for asylum on flights to Haiti, while also transporting those with pending asylum processes to Tapachula in the southern state of Chiapas on the border with Guatemala.The move follows the United States' recent expulsion of Haitians who crossed into the US from the city of Ciudad Acua in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.Officials from the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR, per its Spanish acronym) report that some 19,000 Haitian have applied for asylum between January and August 2021, well over the combined number of asylum requests from Haitians in 2019 and 2020 that saw about 6,000 applications in both years. COMAR, who note that only Hondurans account for more asylum requests in Mexico, say that the 77,000 asylum applications fielded from January to August 2021 are already a 10 per cent increase from their previous record in 2019.

PANAMAPanamanian officials report that more than 20,000 people, mostly from Haiti, crossed into Panama through the treacherous Darien jungle in the eponymous eastern province on the border with Colombia in August 2021, accounting for almost a third of the record 70,000 crossings recorded so far in 2021.The growing number of migrants continues to lead to a rise in humanitarian needs. Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), who are present in the Bajo Chiquito community in Darien where migrants often first arrive after leaving Colombia, report migrants are arriving with health needs related to fungal infections and gastrointestinal or respiratory ailments.Additionally, the presence of armed groups controlling drug trafficking routes is creating serious protection needs. MSF indicates at least 96 women were sexually assaulted in May and July while making the dangerous journey through the jungle.Colombia and Panama agreed in August to limit the number of daily crossings into Darien to ease the burden on shelters and services in Panama. While Panama is allowing 500 people to arrive via boat from the Colombian town of Necocl on the Caribbean coast,Panamas Security Ministry indicated on 20 September that the country is nevertheless seeing 2,500-3,000 daily crossings. Panamas efforts to limit daily entries continues to cause a bottleneck in Necocl, where authorities say there are about 14,000 people, mostly Haitian, currently stranded.

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN: COVID-19

GUATEMALAThe Ministry of Health reports that 300 of Guatemalas 340 municipalities are under red alert due to an unabated spread of COVID-19 that continues to drive up cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The recent municipal alert designations, revised every two weeks, shows a slight decrease from the 305 municipalities under red alert on 4 September. No municipality in the country is under a green alert that indicates conditions for normal activity.While daily cases are slowly tapering off from an all-time single-day high of 5,800 in mid-August 2021, they are nevertheless still routinely surpassing 4,000. Daily death counts are following a similar pattern, with slight decreases from a 2 September record of 91. Active cases, now at 34,400, are showing a more encouraging decline after reaching a peak of 54,300 in late August. Less than a quarter of the population has been reached with vaccines and only 12 per cent of all people fully immunized.

MEXICOPer the Ministry of Health, Mexico is seeing an overall decline in the COVID-19 pandemic for an eighth consecutive week, as daily new cases continue to plummet from an all-time high of nearly 29,000 in mid-August 2021. Official data shows there are fewer than 9,000 hospitalized patients across country, with the highest occupancy rate for general care beds found in the state of Durango at 58 per cent.COVID-19 vaccination rates have tapered off in recent weeks. The percentage of people reached with at least one vaccine, now at 48 per cent, grew by about 5 percent from 21 August to 21 September, compared to 13 per cent growth from 21 July to 21 August.At least 33 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.

PERUAccording to the Ministry of Education, more than 76 per cent of Perus public schools are ready to provide limited onsite learning, a step towards Perus gradual return to regular educational activity after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these 85,654 schools, more than 6,200 have already begun activities for more than a quarter of a million students and more than 18,000 education staff. The Ministry is carrying on a constant evaluation of schools self-reported readiness and health safety measures for returning to onsite learning, limited or otherwise.The COVID-19 pandemic in Peru continues to wane, with daily new cases now commonly coming in below 1,000 and daily new deaths at about 50. The national vaccine roll-out is picking up its pace, with more than one fourth of the 14 million people vaccinated with at least one dose coming in the last month alone. Peru has managed to vaccinate 42 per cent of its population, with 28 per cent fully immunized.

Originally posted here:

Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update (20 - 26 September 2021) As of 27 September 2021 - Mexico - ReliefWeb