Latin America & The Caribbean – Monthly Situation Snapshot – As of 11 May 2021 – Argentina – ReliefWeb

COVID-19 OVERVIEW

Concern is mounting in Latin America and the Caribbean over the circulation of new COVID-19 variants that are driving up cases and hospitalizationswhile countries in the region continue to administer available vaccines supplies. Additionally, increasing cases among people 39 or younger are resultingin longer hospital stays and higher demand for healthcare services. Over the long term, one of the region's chief concerns is the pandemic's impact onmortality, as Latin American countries have suffered more excess deaths from all causes during the pandemic than any other region in the world.

NEW VARIANTS

The P.1 variant from Brazil, thought to be 2 to2.5 times more transmissible than the firstSARS-CoV-2 strain to spread in Latin Americaand the Caribbean, has rapidly spread acrossSouth America in 2021. Countries such asArgentina, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay andVenezuela, who have confirmed the presenceof P.1, have set single-day records for casesand deaths in April. Peru registered its highestsingle-day death toll at 433.

As Brazil shares a border with 10 countries,the greater transmissibility of P.1 variantposes a serious threat to the region. Theclimbing pace of new infections, coupled withchallenges in rolling out vaccines in severalcountries, is further straining health systemsand has prompted certain countries to againimplement restriction measures and/or closetheir borders.

EXCESS DEATHS

While Latin America and the Caribbean's deathtoll of more than 958,300 currently accountsfor nearly 3 out of every 10 COVID-19 deathsreported around the world, the pandemic'seffects on mortality in the region also includeexcess deaths (the number of deaths abovehistorical averages) due to overburdenedhealth systems' reduced capacities for treatingother conditions and COVID-19 deaths notrecorded at hospitals, among other factors.

Latin American countries have suffered moreexcess deaths relative to historical averages,with Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Mexico,Brazil and Colombia currently reporting sevenof the world's eight largest disparities in deathsrelative to historical averages. The region as awhole accounts for 10 out of 40 countries inthe world with the highest excess deaths per 1million people

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Latin America & The Caribbean - Monthly Situation Snapshot - As of 11 May 2021 - Argentina - ReliefWeb