Latin America

• Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:23 UTC

  Peruvian city prays to the Virgin of Socorro, flown in a police helicopter, for the end of coronavirus

  

  Every five years, a statue of the Virgin of Socorro is paraded through the streets of Peru’s third-largest city, Trujillo. But this year, the coronavirus lockdown meant the city’s patron saint could not make her rounds as usual.

• Thursday, May 21st 2020 - 10:01 UTC

  Bolivian health minister and IDB officials involved in corrupt purchase of ventilators

  

  Bolivia's interim president, Jeanine Anez, on Wednesday fired Health Minister Marcelo Navajas for his alleged role in a kickback scheme involving the purchase of 170 Spanish-made ventilators at inflated prices for COVID-19 patients.

• Thursday, May 21st 2020 - 08:56 UTC

  Latin America surpasses the US and Europe with the largest percentage of daily Covid-19 cases

  

  Global coronavirus cases surpassed 5 million on Wednesday, with Latin America overtaking the United States and Europe in the past week to report the largest portion of new daily cases globally.

• Thursday, May 21st 2020 - 08:50 UTC

  Peru and the virus: crematoriums working on 24/7 shifts and queues of funeral cars outside hospitals

  

  Peru has become the second Latin American country after Brazil to reach 100,000 coronavirus cases, according to Health Ministry figures out on Wednesday. The number of dead from Covid-19 has also passed 3,000, with only Brazil and Mexico have suffered more. Both cases and deaths have tripled since April 30.

• Wednesday, May 20th 2020 - 08:54 UTC

  Trump threatening with a travel halt from Latin America because of worsening coronavirus outbreaks in the region

  

  US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is considering imposing a halt on all travel coming from Latin America amid worsening coronavirus outbreaks in the region.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 15:34 UTC

  Costa Rica becomes 38th member of OECD

  

  OECD countries unanimously decided last Friday to invite Costa Rica to become a member of the Organization. Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría will sign an Accession Agreement in the coming days.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:47 UTC

  Latin American stocks and currencies rise on hopes of global economic recovery

  

  Latin American stocks and currencies roared higher on Monday, with Brazil shares rising 3.5% as commodity prices surged on hopes of economic recovery as countries eased pandemic-induced lockdowns.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:42 UTC

  LATAM Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru to lay off 1,400 workers

  

  LATAM Airlines Group, the largest airline conglomerate in Latin America, announced it will lay off 1,400 workers from its branches in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The news was confirmed by the company on May 15, after Reuters released an internal video where LATAM CEO Roberto Alvo announced the measures to its employees.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Chile digging thousands of fresh graves amid a spike in Covid-19 cases

  

  Thousands of fresh graves are being dug in Santiago's main cemetery amid a spike in Chile's COVID-19 cases, authorities said on Thursday. Chile's infection rate soared this week, prompting the government to declare a mandatory lockdown of Santiago's seven million people from Friday.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:53 UTC

  Latin America's two main economies with daily record virus cases, but also desperate to reopen activity

  

  Brazil and Mexico on Thursday reported a record one-day rise in new coronavirus cases, just as leaders of both countries intensified attempts to reopen their economies even as the spread of the virus in Latin America is seemingly gathering pace.