In Europe, we only speak of vigilance in the face of the resurgence of certain epidemic centers. But in the Americas, many countries are on the alert stage. In addition to the United States, the Covid-19 epidemic is progressing at full speed in several Latin American countries. What heightens the concerns in countries whose economic and health situation was sometimes already fragile before the crisis.
It is obviously in Brazil, the largest country in the region, that the situation is most serious. With more than 2.1 million cases of contamination for 212 million inhabitants, and more than 80,000 deaths, the country of Jair Bolsonaro is the second most seriously affected in the world. In two months, the death toll has even quadrupled. And according to health professionals, these figures could be underestimated, for lack of an effective testing policy.
In question: in part, the policy led by a head of state - himself contaminated - who tends to minimize the scale of the epidemic, judges Brazilian professor Paulo Andrade Lotufo, director of the Center for Clinical and Epidemiological Research at the University of Sao Paulo. "Brazil and Mexico have the worst presidents, who have populist biases denying the reality of the pandemic," he criticizes.
Mexico is also seeing its situation worsen, this week approaching the threshold of 40,000 deaths and 350,000 infections. The country of 126 million inhabitants is now the seventh most affected in the world in terms of cases (straddling Peru and Chile), and the fourth in number of deaths.
On site, many doctors testify to the difficulties encountered in public hospitals, according to the South American agency Mercopress. Lack of equipment, personnel, drugs ... The Covid-19 exacerbates the difficulties already present before the crisis.
"The highest levels of inequality in the world"
“Latin America is the region with the highest levels of inequality in the world, with some health systems better able to manage an epidemic than others,” comments the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) , the local UN division.
“Even within these countries, there are economic and social disparities, especially among large populations living in vulnerable conditions: overcrowding, lack of access to healthcare, dependence on the informal economy, etc. application of certain public health measures, for example ”, specifies the organization.
Newsletter - The essentials of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers. Learn more
This is particularly what is happening in Peru, according to Paulo Andrade Lotufo, where the number of infections is as high as in Mexico, while the population is four times smaller (32 million inhabitants). Containment has been underway since March 16, and was only gradually lifted on July 1.
"Peru has managed the crisis well, but it is a poor country, which has logistical problems because of isolated populations", develops the epidemiologist. Since June, Peru has counted around 200 new deaths linked to Covid-19 every day, after having experienced a first peak in mid-May. But for President Martin Vizcarra, it is out of the question to provide for a reconfinement, given the significant economic consequences of the cessation of activity in April and May (-17.29% of GDP).
Isolated populations in danger
In Chile, the number of infections is of equal concern, with more than 350,000 confirmed infections for 19 million inhabitants and 8,500 deaths. Figures that surprise specialist Paulo Andrade Torufo. “Chile is a rich country, but it does not have a universal health system. When one takes into account the level of economic and social development of the country, these numbers should be seen as worse than those of Ecuador (with a mortality excess of 117%, the highest in the world), for example, which is poorer, ”he comments. Containment is still in progress, especially for the capital, Santiago, as well as many mining regions.
After 4 months of the epidemic, the figures are also rising in Colombia and Argentina, but the epidemic there seems to be better controlled, judge Paulo Andrade Torufo. "In Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, there is a political consensus on the epidemic" which allows "very effective control", he explains.
“In Colombia, it's more complicated. The results are different depending on the city. In Medellín (the second most populous city, editor's note), we are doing well, ”says the epidemiologist. In Colombia, neighborhoods in the cities of Bogota and Medellín, more affected than the others, remain confined until August 23. 3.5 million inhabitants are affected.
These outbreaks of the epidemic at variable rates across the continent accentuate another fear: that the epidemic will also harm particularly fragile populations. “The region has many migrant populations (as in Venezuela and its neighboring countries), or indigenous (Amerindian communities in the Amazon basin, Afro-descendant minorities in central and southern America), who have more than difficulties in having access to care, ”recalls PAHO. In these populations, access to tests is not always guaranteed. What to suggest that the epidemic is circulating there, without real control.