In Latin America and the Caribbean, over 121,000 people have died due to COVID-19 complications, however, health authorities warn that this number could increase by more than 300,000 as of October 1. The Pan American Health Organization held a press briefing earlier this week citing modeling by the University of Washington that predicts close to 500,000 deaths across the region through the end of September. This would mean that the weekly death average from now until then could be around 3,500.
The model assumes that countries will continue to follow social distancing guidelines, warning that if prevention measures weaken the death toll could be even higher. This part of the world arguably faces the bleakest outlook as a result of the pandemic. The eight most populous countries in the region, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, and Ecuador, make up more than 80% of the region’s population. Brazil has been hit the hardest by the pandemic, with 1,496,000 current recorded cases and 61,884 recorded deaths.
Read More: Hundreds of thousands more could die from Covid-19 in Latin America, agency warns
