SANTIAGO - Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia have reported a record number of Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours, increasing concerns about the spread of the disease in Latin America.
Due to recent rises in confirmed cases, many health authorities say the continent is now the epicentre of the global pandemic. With several governments lacking adequate testing resources, it's feared that the true number of infections is higher than what's being reported.
In some of the biggest developments:
Brazil reported 20,894 new infections on Saturday, the highest on the continent. It currently has the second-biggest toll of deaths and cases in the world, after the US.
Chile's President Sebastián Piñera has replaced Health Minister Jaime Mañalich amid controversy over the reporting of the country's death toll.
In Mexico, the number of cases has also increased sharply in the past three days; it has the fourth highest number of registered cases in Latin America.(FA)