South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Brazil has overtaken Britain to be the country with the second-highest death toll of COVID-19 in the world, according to data from the Brazilian Health Ministry.

The ministry on late Friday confirmed 909 new deaths over the last 24 hours, taking the country's total deaths to 41,828, while the death toll in Britian is 41,566.

LIMA, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 170 police officers in Peru have died after contracting the coronavirus while enforcing the South American nation’s pandemic lockdown, the interior minister said.

Almost 10,000 officers have been infected with the disease as they enforced social distancing measures during Peru’s 12 weeks of stay-at-home orders.

“We have 9,900 infected personnel and 170 deceased personnel. That is the figure that we currently have despite the efforts being made,” Interior Minister General Gaston Rodriguez told reporters.

SANTIAGO, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chile on Thursday exceeded 154,000 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 2,600 deaths, one hundred days after the outbreak began and with the health service straining under massive admissions numbers.

“It has been a very hard 100 days,” health minister Jaime Manalich told reporters in the capital Santiago. “June is going to be the toughest month in the fight against the disease.”

Health authorities reported 154,092 cases and 2,648 deaths so far.

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil has surpassed 40,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 800,000 cases, according to the latest figures from the health ministry.

The news came as the number of Latin American cases of the virus broke through the 1.5 million barrier, according to a count based on official figures in the region.

Latin America has also reported more than 73,600 deaths.

CARACAS/MEXICO CITY(Reuters) - Last year, China replaced the United States as the No. 1 importer of oil from Venezuela, yet another front in the heated rivalry between Washington and Beijing. 

11 June 2020; AFP: The coronavirus pandemic advanced steadily Wednesday through Latin America, where the death toll passed the grim milestone of 70,000 fatalities even as Europe planned to reopen its external borders to foreigners in July.

The Americas -- North and South -- remained the epicenter of the global health crisis, accounting for almost half the 412,926 deaths and 7.3 million infections worldwide, based on an AFP tally of figures released by national health ministries by 1900 GMT.

LIMA, June 10 (NNN-ANDINA) – The number of COVID-19 cases in Peru surpassed 200,000 on Tuesday, less than a month after the virus caseload topped 100,000 in the country.

A total of 1,227,691 tests for the virus have been carried out so far, with 203,736 positive cases, the health ministry said, in its latest report.

The South American country registered 5,738 deaths from the disease, representing the third highest death toll in Latin America and the Caribbean, after Brazil and Mexico.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered the government of President Jair Bolsonaro to resume publication of full COVID-19 data, including the cumulative death toll, following allegations the government was trying to hide the severity of the pandemic in Latin America’s biggest country.

The government complied with the decision Tuesday afternoon.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s government has spent 700 billion reais ($143 billion), more than any emerging country, in emergency crisis-fighting measures, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Tuesday, adding that 10 million formal jobs have been saved.

Speaking at government cabinet meeting broadcast on TV, Guedes also said emergency aid for informal workers will be extended for two months, a period which will be used to prepare the country for a return to work with extra safety measures.

BUENOS AIRES, June 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Argentine paleontologists have uncovered fossilized remains of a rare species of frog that lived two million years ago, the science and technology agency at the La Matanza national university said.

“We know very little about prehistoric frogs and toads,” said Federico Agnolin, a researcher at the Natural Science Museum.

“Frogs and toads are very sensitive to climate and environmental changes, which makes them an important source to understand past climates.”