Several Latin American countries are still among the top 10 hardest-hit in the world as a resurgence in new COVID-19 cases sweeps the region.
Mexico Cases Up Again
Last week, Mexico saw a slight decline in daily new coronavirus cases, but on Friday, the country logged an additional 6,026 confirmed COVID-19 infections. The national infection toll now stands at 579,914.
With 518 new deaths in the last 24 hours, Mexico's national fatality toll has reached 62,594. It remains the third hardest-hit country in terms of deaths linked to the novel coronavirus.
Mexico is also the third Latin American country with the most number of confirmed coronavirus cases.
Banker: Foreign Investment Key to Mexico's Recovery
Banco de Mexico Gov. Alejandro Diaz de Leon said in a recent interview that foreign investment will play a critical role in helping the country recover from the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis.
"We're going to need a good strategy for investment to recover," Diaz de Leon pointed out. His comments came following the central bank's projections on Wednesday that the Mexican economy could contract by up to 12.8 percent this year.
The last time Mexico saw a double-digit economic contraction was in 1932, when the economy slumped by 14.8 percent.
Argentina Quarantine Ensues Following Record-High Daily Spike
Earlier this week, Argentina logged its highest number of new coronavirus infections in a single day, with 10,550 new confirmed cases on Wednesday.
This week's new grim milestone came as the country continues to go through months of quarantine, raising concerns about the impact of what is now being referred to by Argentinians as "quaranternity."
The national lockdown in Argentina kicked off on March 20, with residents in Buenos Aires only being allowed to leave their homes to make important purchases.
Rosendo Fraga, head of a Buenos Aires-based think tank, said a study headed by the psychology department at the University of Buenos Aires indicated that " two in three Argentines are having serious trouble sleeping" due to the seemingly unending quarantine period.
It remains to be seen how the government will react to the new calls from experts and Argentinian masses alike. As of Thursday, the country has logged a total of 380,292 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,050 deaths.
Peru Hits New Grim Milestone
Peru on Thursday passed Belgium to become the country with the highest number of deaths per capita since the coronavirus pandemic started.
According to the Johns Hopkins University, Peru's 28,277 deaths linked to COVID-19 translates to 86.2 fatalities per 100,000 people.
The news came roughly a month after a government study suggested that as much as a quarter of Lima's 12 million residents may have been infected with the virus.
As of Thursday, Peru has logged a total of 613,378 confirmed coronavirus cases. It is the second hardest-hit country in Latin America.
Over 40,000 New Cases in Brazil
In Brazil, there were 44,235 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the national infection toll to 3,761,391.
The country saw a decline in daily new infections over the past week but cases have since resurged as multiple states continue to reopen against the advice of health experts.
Brazil is the hardest-hit country in all of Latin America and it has the most devastating outbreak in the region.