Coronavirus expands grip in Americas

In the Americas the outbreaks of the novel Coronavirus is rising rapidly Latin America has become the latest epicentre of the COVID19 pandemic by surpassing Europe and the US in the daily infections CNN reported quoting Pan American Health Organisation Director Dr Carissa Etienne on Wednesday Over 25 million cases and over 143000 deaths have been reported in all of the Americas so far said Dr EtienneFrom Mexico to Chile health officials were reporting surging cases and overwhelmed hospitals Authorities in Chile said their ICUs were near full capacity with about 4000 new cases being confirmed daily Brazil has about 375000 infections mdash second only to the 16 million cases in the US mdash and has counted over 23000 deathsAerial view of Ciudad Bolivar neighbourhood south of Bogota during the COVID19 pandemic PicsAFPMexico records 501 deathsIn Mexico the health department reported 501 deaths a new oneday high and the first time the figure exceeded 500 The number of new cases also set a daily high on Tuesday with 3455 additional infections Mexicos daily death toll is now approaching that of the US at around 620 though Brazil leads in daily deaths with over 800 Meanwhile many countries in Asia and Europe are making steady progressNo cases in hospitals in NZIn New Zealand which is still banning foreign arrivals the Ministry of Health said there were no COVID19 patients under treatment in the countrys hospitals The nation took aggressive and early action to stop transmissions and has reported only 21 deaths It has 21 active cases out of 1504 confirmed and probable onesAs Mediterranean beaches and Las Vegas casinos lay out plans to welcome tourists again South Korea on Wednesday announced a spike in new infections and considered reimposing social distancing restrictions revealing the setbacks ahead for others on the road to reopening In South Korea 40 new cases mdash the biggest daily jump in nearly 50 days mdash raised alarm as millions of children return to school South Korea has reported 269 deaths and 11265 cases after managing to contain a severe earlier outbreakEurope has recorded about 170000 deaths while the US has reported more than 98900 in a span of less than four months more than the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined The actual toll is thought to be significantly higherEU unveils stimulus packageThe European Union unveiled a massive stimulus package for the blocs ailing economies later Wednesday EU Economics Commissioner Paulo Gentiloni called the 750 billioneuro 825 billion recovery fund a European turning point to face an unprecedented crisisSouth Korea may reimpose physical distancing rulesJeong Eunkyeong director of South Koreas Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says the country may need to reimpose physical distancing in April with virus transmissions creeping up in Seoul and elsewhere in recent weeks Its becoming increasingly difficult for health workers to track the spread of COVID19 he said6ft distancing not enough virus can travel nearly 20ftScientists have modelled the spread of infectious droplets from coughing sneezing and breathing under different atmospheric conditions and foundthat the novel Coronavirus can spread up to three times further in cold and humid weather According to the researchers including those from the Universityof California Santa Barbara in the United States droplets carrying the virus can travel up to 20 feet making the current physical distancing norms of sixfeet insufficient to contain its spreadCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever