Latin America’s COVID-19 Cases Continue Uptick As Total Nears 80,000

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. April 17, 2020: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Latin America continues to increase with the region reaching near 80,000 Thursday.

The exact number of cases based on a News Americas tally was at 79,246 while the number of deaths is now at 3,700.

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As of last night, Brazil remains the epicenter of the virus in the region with nearly 30,000 confirmed cases or 30,683 to be exact. The country added 555 new cases Thursday as the number of the dead rose to 1,947

The continued uptick came as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro fired Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta on Thursday. Mandetta made the disclosure on Twitter. The two had clashed for weeks about how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Reuters News.

Oncologist Nelson Teich will be appointed to replace Mandetta, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Peru, meanwhile, still has the second highest number of cases in the region with 12,491 but its death toll is lower at 274.

Chile has the third largest number of cases in the region with 8,807 cases but the number of dead is at 105.

Here’s where the other countries in Latin America stack up:

Ecuador – 8,225 cases and 403 deaths

Mexico – 6,297 cases and 486 deaths

Panama – 4,016 cases and 109 deaths

Colombia – 3,233 cases and 144 deaths

Argentina – 2,669 cases and 122 deaths

Costa Rica – 642 cases and 4 deaths

Uruguay – 502 cases and 9 deaths

Honduras – 426 cases and 35 deaths

Bolivia – 465 cases and 31 deaths

Venezuela – 204 cases and 9 deaths

Guatemala – 214 cases and 7 deaths

Paraguay – 199 cases and 8 deaths

El Salvador – 164 cases and 6 deaths

Nicaragua – 9 cases and 1 death.