The coronavirus strikes the Latin American political class

Statistically, Bolsonaro would leave covid-19, says expert 3:43

(CNN) - As the coronavirus spreads throughout Latin America, it is hitting the region's political class hard, with at least three heads of state and several politicians who have tested positive for the disease.

The situation is particularly serious in Bolivia, where Foreign Minister Karen Longaric became the ninth high-ranking official to test positive for covid-19 on Monday.

Longaric joins a long list of colleagues, including the ministers of Health, Economy, Justice and Interior, as well as the interim Bolivian president, Jeanine Áñez, who tested positive last week and are currently in quarantine.

Áñez is the third Latin American head of state to contract the virus, after the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández.

Bolsonaro, who repeatedly downplayed the coronavirus crisis, remains in semi-isolation.

The new epicenter of the pandemic

Latin America became the epicenter of the global pandemic in late May. Cases in the region surpassed the 3 million mark on Monday and contribute significantly to recent increases in the number of global cases.

Brazil has the second highest number of coronavirus cases worldwide, after the United States, with more than 1.8 million people in the country who have tested positive.

Peru, Chile and Mexico are also severely affected and remain on the list of the ten countries with the most officially confirmed cases of coronavirus.

In impoverished Venezuela, where there are concerns about the country's paralyzed health system, the virus also appears to be spreading.

Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Constituent Assembly of Venezuela, announced that he had tested positive on June 9. Cabello is considered the second most powerful official in Venezuela after the embattled President Nicolás Maduro.

The country's oil minister, Tareck El Aissami, also tested positive.

Government responses to the virus have radically differed in Latin America, however, the region's informal workforce and high levels of inequality are among the main factors driving the outbreak increase.

On Tuesday, a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University found that Latin America and the Caribbean had suffered more deaths from coronaviruses than the United States and Canada, although the latter have still suffered more reported deaths per capita.

Overall, the Americas recorded 60% of all new covid-19 cases worldwide in the past week, and 64% of all new deaths, according to Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Organization for health.

During a press conference Tuesday, Etienne said the region has reached 6.8 million cases and 288,000 deaths.

"This equates to about half of all reported cases and deaths worldwide," he said.

Marcia Reverdosa, Rodrigo Pedroso, Taylor Barnes, Claudia Rebaza, Gloria Carrasco and Abel Alvarado contributed to this report.

Jair BolsonaroJeanine Áñez