COVID-19

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — After more than a week suffering a cough and fever —potential signs of COVID-19— Maria do Espírito Santo went to a hospital in Manaus, Brazil’s biggest city in the Amazon rain forest. There were no beds available, just a plastic chair, so her family took her home.

The truth is that our broken immigration system can’t handle the coronavirus.

The low numbers of Venezuela in contrast with its size and population —256 infected in a country of over 27 million— has raised questions about the veracity of the official toll.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro came out in public to support a small protest Sunday that defended military intervention, prompting strong criticism across the political spectrum while also infringing his own ministry’s recommendation to maintain social distancing.

The poll was conducted by Latino Decisions in partnership with SOMOS, the country’s largest physician-led health delivery network.

Latino Rebels Radio: April 19, 2020

COVID-19 caught the city off guard, and the few treatment options available were squandered and wasted. Guayaquil was the region’s test case for what will happen when low government capacity meets political inertia, disbelief and ineptitude in the face of a pandemic that knows no mercy.

Competence, expertise, openness and honesty are all critical to build trust and credibility during a crisis. Unfortunately, the Puerto Rican government has failed at every single one of these during the COVID-19 emergency.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Seated in a wheelchair at one of Peru’s oldest hospitals, 84-year-old Emma Salvador struggled for each breath, aided by an oxygen mask pinching her face. Her son fanned her with folded sheets of paper, wishing he could do more.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Ricans are becoming increasingly disgruntled with how the government is handling the COVID-19 crisis as details emerge, including the death a 29-year-old man who became the U.S. territory’s youngest victim after his father said he wasn’t tested the first two times he sought help at an emergency room.

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The Trump administration’s failure to test all but a small percentage of detained immigrants for the novel coronavirus may be helping it spread through the United States’ sprawling system of detention centers and then to Central America and elsewhere aboard regular deportation flights, migrants’ advocates said Friday.

The number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases that have been reported can reflect a double or even triple count. The Health Department confirmed it has no protocol in place to manage and inform the rapid test results.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump has promised Mexico will be able to buy 1,000 ventilators and other intensive-therapy equipment used in treating severe cases of COVID-19.

The breaking news is nonstop, so we’ve tried to condense and make everything digestible.

La cifra de casos positivos de COVID-19 que se han reportado tiene un problema de doble o hasta triple conteo. El Departamento de Salud confirmó que no tenía protocolos para manejar e informar el resultado de las pruebas rápidas.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan officials have taken to state TV in recent weeks to crow that the socialist government is conducting more coronavirus tests than any other country in Latin America. But instead of detecting more infections, as has happened elsewhere when testing ramps up, they are reporting fewer.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro made it clear on Friday that he wants his new health minister to help protect the country’s economy as the government seeks to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

This report shares critical demographic information on the Latino community, features firsthand accounts from frontline Latino workers, and forecasts the devastating toll of COVID-19 on the Latino community, based on the impact of the Great Recession.

Here are important takeaways from the virtual town hall. 

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Forty-four Guatemalans deported on one flight from the United States this week have tested positive for COVID-19, a Guatemalan government official with knowledge of the situation said, amid rising rejection of deportees due to virus fears.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico will begin to restrict movement between places most affected by the COVID-19 virus —mostly large cities— and places with few infections, the president said Thursday.