Latin America & The Caribbean – Weekly Situation Update (11-17 January 2021) As of 18 January 2021 – Mexico – ReliefWeb

KEY FIGURES

17.4M CUMULATIVE COVID-19 CASES IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN AS OF 17 JANUARY

234K VACCINE DOSES ADMINISTERED IN MEXICO TO DATE, MORE THAN ANY COUNTRY IN THE REGION

440K PEOPLE TARGETED IN FIRST PHASE OF JAMAICA'S VACCINATION PROGRAM

MEXICO

The Ministry of Health reported nearly 108,000 cases during the first 10 days of January, including a single-day record of 16,105 cases on 9 January, breaking single-day case records on four consecutive days during this period.The 80,492 cases reported between 3-9 January are the highest seven-day stretch of the pandemic. The increase is also driving up the death toll, with more than 1,000 daily deaths reported over five consecutive days during this same 10-day period, including a singleday record of 1,165 deaths.The rising cases and deaths come as the Government reports administering as many as 234,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses, the most of any country in Latin America and the Caribbean and 13th overall in the world. Authorities are working to reach 400,000 vaccinations before 19 January to protect healthcare workers and use the next incoming batch to vaccinate the elderly.

PERU

The Ministry of Health confirmed that Peru is dealing with a second wave of COVID-19 infections, with their most recent epidemiological alert noting increases in positive tests, deaths and hospitalizations. Daily new cases are regularly reaching or surpassing 1,500 since the beginning of the year. Hospitals in the north, south and central regions have no available intensive care unit beds. Ministry officials attribute the increase in recent weeks to a new strain of the virus.

JAMAICA

The Government announced they will extend the nightly curfew already in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 until 31 January. Health authorities say the St Ann and Manchester parishes are showing signs of uncontrollable spread, with St Ann recording 35 cases per 100,000 people and Manchester 43 per 100,000 people, a major concern considering that the national average is just 2.5 per 100,000 people.

Health authorities in both parishes are ramping up prevention activities, including testing and contact tracing.Jamaica expects to receive a first batch of 292,000 vaccine doses in April 2021 through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) mechanism, enough to vaccinate approximately 146,000 people. This represents about 33 per cent of the 440,000 people the Government plans to vaccinate in the first phase of its vaccination program, prompting the Government to explore potential bilateral arrangements with India,China and Cuba to secure more vaccines doses.

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Latin America & The Caribbean - Weekly Situation Update (11-17 January 2021) As of 18 January 2021 - Mexico - ReliefWeb