FILE PHOTO: A gravedigger in a protective suit digs a grave to bury the coffin of a person who died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Vila Formosa cemetery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on July 16, 2020. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
ASUNCION / SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Coronavirus cases in Latin America for the first time have outstripped combined infections in the United States and Canada, a Reuters count showed on Sunday, amid rising infections in Brazil, Mexico, Peru , Colombia and Argentina.
The rapid growth in the number of cases makes Latin America the region most affected by the pandemic worldwide, with 26.83% of cases worldwide.
Latin America now has 4,327,160 total cases of the new coronavirus compared to 4,308,495 infections in the United States and Canada, according to the count based on data provided by the governments of each country.
The United States continues to be the individual country with the highest number of infections and deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, with more than 4.2 million cases and approximately 146,000 deaths, followed by Brazil, with 2.4 million cases and almost 87,000 dead.
Mexico, Peru and Chile are also among the top 10 nations in COVID-19 cases.
According to the Reuters count, the number of people known to have been infected worldwide exceeds 16.1 million.
Health experts have said that official data almost certainly does not report infections and deaths, particularly in countries with limited testing capacity.
Reports by Daniela Desantis and Javier Leira; Written by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Will Dunham
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