The Caribbean has been comparatively successful in managing COVID-19 from a public health perspective, able to seal borders as an island archipelago to achieve a measure of virus containment.

A heavy reliance on tourism, however, has left the Caribbean region exposed to severe economic downturn, widening inequalities in its society.

During this live webinar on November 19th, Sandeep B. Maharaj (Associate Dean Distance Education, Projects and Planning, Faculty of Medical Sciences Lectures & Coordinator Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine), Jan Yves Remy (Deputy Director, Shridath Ramphal Centre, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill), and Clive Landis (Pro Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Studies and Chair COVID-19 Task Force, The University of West Indies) analyzed the COVID-19-related situation in the Caribbean, including the current U.S.-Caribbean trade relations, the testing and mortality rates, and the capacity of public health systems. The presentations were moderated by Felicia Knaul (Director of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas and Professor of the Miller School of Medicine of the University of Miami).

The webinar was in English with audio simultaneously translated to Spanish.

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The Caribbean has been comparatively successful in managing COVID-19 from a public health perspective, able to seal borders as an island archipelago to achieve a measure of virus containment.

Join our speakers Sandeep B. Maharaj and Jan Yves Remy, along with commentator Clive Landis and moderator Felicia Knaul, as we discuss next Thursday the situation in the region and outlooks on economic and trade policy for future sustainable development of the Caribbean.

The webinar will be conducted in English with simultaneous translation to Spanish available.

Follow us on social media for more updates: Twitter @mia_umiami / Facebook @univmiamiMIA / YouTube Observatory of COVID-19 in the Americas

Latin America continues to be the global epicenter for COVID-19. With only 8% of the world’s population, it has 36% of average daily deaths.

Peru ranks 42nd in global population and 7th in COVID-19-related mortality, while Argentina ranks 31st in global population and 14th in COVID-19-related mortality.

During this live webinar on September 30th, former Argentinian Health Minister Dr. Adolfo Rubinstein and former Peruvian Health Minister Dr. Patricia Garcia analyzed the COVID-19-related situation in Latin America. They also emphasized how the pandemic has affected Argentina and Peru specifically, including the economic impact of COVID-19 on unemployment. The presentations by these health experts were moderated by Dr. Felicia Knaul, director of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas and professor of the Miller School of Medicine.

The webinar was in Spanish with the presentation slides in English. The audio in Spanish was simultaneously translated to English.

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Our researchers Felicia Knaul and Michael Touchton were quoted in the following article in Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger in discussion about Latin America’s situation in the current pandemic. The following text is a AI-produced translation of the original article, available here.

As if Corona had never existed

In many large cities in Latin America, people are behaving as they were before the pandemic. That Could lead to a public health disaster.

by Simon Widmer, 09/23/2020, 1:13PM

On the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, the pandemic appears to be over. At least in the minds of the numerous people who linger on the kilometers of coastline of Ipanema or Copacabana. Children build sand castles, adults bathe in the sun or play volleyball. Hardly anyone keeps their distance or wears a protective mask.

Even more mobile than before the pandemic

In other large cities in Latin America, too, people are behaving almost like they did before the pandemic. Professors Michael Touchton and Felicia Knaul from the University of Miami systematically evaluated movement data in the region . The data shows that in five Brazilian states, people are even more mobile than they were before the Corona crisis. “Also in the state of Amazonas, which is particularly badly affected,” says Michael Touchton.

This finding is in line with Bloomberg’s analysis . In São Paulo the cars back up again during rush hour, the traffic in Mexico City, which fell to around 14 percent of the normal level in mid-April, is now at 70 percent of the pre-Corona level. In Santiago de Chile, people move only 13 percent less than before the Corona measures.

Of course, the desire to return to a life without major restrictions is understandable. Many Latin American countries imposed severe lockdowns in March. For long months, citizens were only allowed to leave their homes when absolutely necessary. Many workers in the informal sector were faced with existential difficulties. You work without a contract, without unemployment benefit or health insurance.

Eight percent of the world’s population lives in Latin America, but the region has a third of the world’s infections and deaths. The previous opening steps were not accompanied by any accompanying measures. “Many countries have lifted corona restrictions without setting up the tests and contact tracing. That is potentially very dangerous, ”says Felicia Knaul.

The rapid opening has now called the World Health Organization (WHO) on the scene. WHO Regional Director Carissa Etienne is critical of the easing strategies in Latin America. The region has started to return to normal social and public life, although major interventions are still needed to contain the pandemic. “We have to be aware that opening it too early gives this virus more space to spread and puts our populations at greater risk,” says Etienne.

Felicia Knaul regrets that Brazil and Mexico are precisely the most populous countries with the worst health policies. Both Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his Mexican counterpart Andrés Manuel López Obrador have downplayed the dangers of the virus, she says.

Tourism as a risk factor

Bolsonaro continues to maintain that Covid-19 is no more dangerous than the flu, and propagates the drug hydroxychloroquine, whose positive effect against the coronavirus is unlikely based on current scientific knowledge. López Obrador recently said flippantly that only when there was no more corruption in the country would he also wear a face mask. At the beginning of the pandemic, he had claimed that his honesty and amulets, which he had received from his followers, would protect him.

Carissa Etienne sees another risk factor: international tourism, which many countries want to stimulate again. International flights from some countries to Colombia have been possible again since the beginning of the week. From October Edelweiss will be offering a direct flight from Zurich to Cancun , Mexico . Etienne warns that governments need to monitor tourist traffic very carefully, as reopening to tourism could lead to setbacks. This has happened in the Caribbean, where several countries with virtually no cases peaked after tourism resumed.

Disclaimer: All content translated here belongs to Simon Widmer and Tages Anzeiger. It has been translated using Google’s page Translate for ease of reading by our Observatory’s online visitors.

SEPTEMBER 30TH @ 1:30PM ET

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Latin America continues to be the global epicenter for COVID-19. Peru ranks 42nd in global population and 7th in COVID-19-related mortality, while Argentina ranks 31st in global population and 14th in COVID-19-related mortality.

Join our public health experts Dr. Felicia M. Knaul, Dr. Adolfo Rubinstein, and Dr. Patricia J. Garcia as we discuss next week the current situation in Peru and Argentina, outlooks for each country, and the overall regional context.

The webinar will be conducted in Spanish with simultaneous translation to English available.

Follow us on social media for more updates: Twitter @mia_umiami / Facebook @univmiamiMIA / YouTube Observatory of COVID-19 in the Americas

TOMORROW @ 10:30 AM ET

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 3 women worldwide experienced physical or sexual violence. In recent times, lockdowns have restricted women’s mobility, increased economic strain and familial stress, and worsened the threat of violence.

Join our researcher Dr. Felicia M. Knaul and speakers from World Bank, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), Duke University, and Center for Global Development tomorrow for this webinar.

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In op-ed published in the Miami Herald this past weekend, Dr. Felicia Knaul and Dr. Michael Touchton discussed their analysis of the current situation in Latin America in regard to the pandemic of COVID-19.

Two of the main researchers of UM’s Observatory, Knaul and Touchton explained that political leaders’ dismissal of the severity of the pandemic and limited public health-related campaigning for combating the disease added to the severity of the situation in countries like Brazil and Mexico. To them, coronavirus has become “a national public-health crisis, not a left-wing or right-wing crisis.”

COVID-19 does not ask its victims about political preference. Yet, one cannot tell that from Bolsonaro’s rhetoric or from mayors’ and governos’ policy responses.

Felicia Knaul and Michael Touchton

The researchers further point out that countries in the Latin American region with populist leaders, like Brazil, had time to prepare for the pandemic “but chose not to. Instead, Bolsonaro wasted valuable time and claimed that COVID-19 would ‘disappear’.”

Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article245658545.html

Latin America is a global hotspot for COVID-19. With only 8% of the world’s population, it has 43% of the average daily deaths (about 5.5 million).

During this live webinar on September 2nd, Dr. Rafael Lozano, director of Health Systems at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluations (IHME) presented projections until December 2020 for Latin America alongside the newest data of mobility and public policy from the UM Observatory presented by Dr. Felicia Knaul, director of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas at the University of Miami (UM). The two were joined by Dr. Michael Touchton, Dr. Julio Frenk, Dr. Rifat Atun, and Dr. Patricia Garcia in this webinar that was simultaneously translated into English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

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Brazil is now the global COVID-19 hotspot with over 1,000 deaths per day and more than 1 million cases overall. President Bolsonaro’s failure to respond to the pandemic places the burden on state and local governments.

During this live webinar on June 25th, world-renowned public health expert Dr. Cesar Victora shared new results from studies by Epicovid19, the first to assess the prevalence of coronavirus in Brazil. He was joined by Dr. Felicia Knaul and Dr. Michael Touchton from the University of Miami Observatory of COVID-19 in the Americas, who summarized public policy responses by Brazilian states. He was joined by Dr. Felicia Knaul and Dr. Michael Touchton from the University of Miami Observatory of COVID-19 in the Americas, who summarized public policy responses by Brazilian states.

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The world has entered a ‘dangerous phase’ with the reopening, according to the WHO [Spanish; “‘El mundo entró en una ‘fase peligrosa’ con el desconfinamiento’: OMS”]

The general director of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this Friday that the world has entered a new and dangerous phase in the fight against COVID-19 as countries reopen after quarantines and shutdowns. On Thursday, 150,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported worldwide, with the majority in the US.

Quick molecular tests for detection of COVID-19 developed in Peru are ready [Spanish; “Pruebas moleculares rápidas para COVID-19 desarrolladas en Perú ya están listas“]

Scientists in Peru have developed a molecular test for the detection of COVID-19 that provides results within 40 minutes. The results of the new test are just as great or even better than current methods of PCR genetic testing used for detection of the new coronavirus.

American Airlines Bans Passenger Who Refused to Wear Face Mask [English]

Although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has declined airline and union requests to make masks mandatory in flights, American Airlines and other US airlines have made their own policies requiring passengers to (AA) wear masks on their flights. This past Wednesday at LGA in New York, one passenger was ordered off his flight after ignoring crew requests to wear a mask, and is now banned from further AA flights while their mask policy is in place.

Demand for domestic flights in Brazil decrease 91% in May [Portuguese; “Demandas por voos domésticos cai 91% em maio”]

Overall demand for flights in Brazil have decreased significantly, with a 91% fall just in May for domestic flights. Demand for international flights fell 97% in comparison with the same month the previous year. Cargo transport decreased 54%.

Florida breaks another single-day record, with 3,822 new coronavirus cases [English]

Florida registered a daily record for the second day in a row in number of cases of COVID-19. More than half of all the cases in the state are within South Florida counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe. Over 1.5 million people in the state have been tested, and almost 86,000 have tested positive for the virus as of now.

Vulnerable US Latino communities hard hit by COVID-19 [English]

Latino communities in the US are struggling with the spread of COVID-19 allover the country, from the suburbs of DC to farm areas in Florida. One of the reasons for the vulnerability of this community is that they “cannot afford to stop working,” as well as jobs that do not allow for social distancing, tight living conditions, lack of health insurance, mistrust of the medical system, and greater numbers of preexisting health conditions. In North Carolina, Latinos account for 45% of all COVID-19 cases.