The Latin American region remains a hard-hit site of coronavirus outbreaks, with Brazil leading the race with the United States for number of confirmed infections.
Brazil Logs Over 40,000 New Cases
On Tuesday, the Brazilian health ministry reported an additional 41,008 confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the national infection toll to 2,166,532 cases.
On the same day, 1,367 people succumbed to the novel coronavirus, bringing the national fatality toll to 81,487, as confirmed by ministry data.
The news came two weeks after the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, confirmed that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Bolsonaro is known for downplaying the virus and for initially refusing to practice proper social distancing.
Despite the daily bad news that the country has been seeing over the past months, hopes are high as human trials for potential coronavirus vaccines are pursued.
Brazil Green-Lights Trials for Third Potential COVID-19 Vaccine
According the health officials in the country, a three-month test for a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Sinovac, a Chinese pharmaceutical firm, will soon begin.
Sinovac's tests will include all health professionals in the country and will include six Brazilian states. There will also be 9,000 volunteers expected to take part in the human trials.
Aside from the vaccine produced by Sinovac, the Brazilian health ministry is already partnering with Oxford University and AstraZeneca for a potential vaccine that could finally end the country's crisis.
Finally, the federal authorities also announced that they had given the go-ahead for tests on a potential vaccine being developed by BioNTech and Pfizer.
Health experts noted that due to Brazil's widespread outbreaks, it is a perfect location for vaccine testing. The country also has confirmed cases among both high-risk and low-risk patients, making for a diversified review of how the potential vaccines will work against the virus.
Mexico Eclipses New Death Milestone
Meanwhile in Mexico, things have been on a downturn as the health ministry on Tuesday reported 915 fatalities linked to COVID-19. The national death toll now stands at 40,400.
Furthermore, there were 6,859 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, bringing the national infection toll to 356,255.
When Mexico breached the 35,000-mark in deaths last week, it passed Italy to become the fourth hardest-hit country in the world in fatalities from the disease. It is also the seventh hardest-hit country in the world in confirmed infections.
Peru Reopens Restaurants
In Peru, restaurants and other dining establishments have started operating at 40 percent capacity as the country continues to ease its lockdowns.
The news came following a months-long lockdown that resulted in the elimination of thousands of jobs in different industries. Peru's National Tourism Chamber revealed earlier that around 70,000 businesses were permanently shut down during the lockdown.
Amid the reopening, Peru has logged a total of 362,087 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 13,579 deaths. It is the sixth hardest-hit country in the world and second hardest-hit in all of Latin America.
Many health experts have warned against early reopening, especially in countries and regions where cases continue to climb and healthcare infrastructure is inadequate.
