Mexico is among the 10 worst-hit countries by COVID-19

Global infections from the novel coronavirus have topped 21 million as the rate of new cases surges, particularly in the United States and Latin America, according to a tally on August 18.

One million new infections were recorded in only six days, according to the count based on official sources, just as countries start to unwind punishing lockdowns that have devastated their economies and thrown millions out of work.

Mexico recently implemented a four-color coding system to resume activities after COVID-19 in order to reactivate the economy.

The epidemiological four-step “traffic light” model is designed to resume non-essential activities. The four categories defined for the gradual reopening of activities are based on their social value: high and low in social value, as well as according to the number of people they involve.

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Every week, Mexico’s health authorities will inform the current color of the «traffic light» model in each state during the daily news conference to report the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, which is led by Mexico’s coronavirus czar Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez.

Nevertheless, the IMF warned on its latest World Economic Outlook that Mexico’s economy will plummet 10.7% as the global economy faces the worst recession since the Great Depression due to the effects of the pandemic.

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting a nearly double-digit recession for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020 – a contraction of 9.4% – as the region is dragged down by its two largest economies, Mexico and Brazil, which continue to suffer from the coronavirus.

The multilateral lending agency said in its report that in Latin America, “most countries are still struggling to contain infections.”

The worldwide death toll from the disease that first emerged in China six months ago surpassed 777,000 as fears grow of a full-blown second wave, with the rate of contagion doubling since May 21.

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The United States, the hardest-hit country, has surpassed 5.4 million cases alone, as efforts to reopen the world’s economic powerhouse were set back by a jump in new infections in big states such as Florida.

Despite Mexico’s efforts to mitigate the spread of the disease, including the reconversion of hospitals throughout the country to treat patients infected with COVID-19, the purchase of tonnes of medical supplies from China as well as over 300 ventilators from the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic has infected over 500,000 Mexicans to date.

Moreover, on July 4, Mexico became the 5th country with the highest COVID-19 death toll, the same day, it joined the list of the 10 countries with the highest COVID-19 infection rates, according to the John Hopkins coronavirus tally.

As of August 18, the United States has registered 5,480,487 confirmed COVID-19 cases, followed by Brazil with 3,359,570, and India with 2,702,742 cases.

Meanwhile, Russia has 930,276 COVID-19 cases to date while South Africa has 592,144.

Peru has 541.493 confirmed coronavirus infections, followed by Mexico with 531,239, Colombia with 476,660 cases, Chile with 388,855, and Spain with 364,196.

The 10 countries with the highest rate of COVID-19 infections
 

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Publicación Original: https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english/mexico-among-10-worst-hit-countries-covid-19