US records 2m cases, Latam toll crosses 70,000

The global coronavirus outbreak hit worrying new landmarks in the United States, Latin America and Russia.

The United States, which has the world’s highest number of deaths and infections, marked a grim new milestone as recorded cases surged past 2 million on Thursday.

Russia meanwhile passed the milestone of 500,000 confirmed cases, and Iran said 180,000 have been infected there. The death toll in Latin America passed 70,000 fatalities on Wednesday, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

In Brazil, which accounts for well over half of the deaths in the region, hospitals were struggling to cope with the influx of sick and dying.

“Nursing was always an overworked profession, and this pandemic has just made things worse,” nurse Hans Bossan said. “Nurses deal directly with patients, with the virus. We’re on the front lines of the war,” said Bossan, who is working 72 hours a week in three jobs.

Nurses have been hit particularly hard as Brazil has rocketed up the global charts to claim an unwanted third spot in the number of deaths, behind the United States and Britain.

Around 18,000 nurses there have been infected with COVID-19, and at least 181 have died — among the highest numbers in the world, according to the International Council of Nurses.

Critics of Brazil’s populist President Jair Bolsonaro say the epidemic has been worsened by a haphazard response that has seen the president repeatedly downplay the severity of the disease. He has agitated against the lockdowns, insisting the economic cost is too high.

On Wednesday, and with infection rates still soaring, the economic capital Sao Paulo began reopening shops.

Reopening also gathered pace in the United States with tourism-dependent Miami allowing people onto its beaches for the first time in three months.

The moves come despite the US infection tally tipping past the 2 million mark. Almost 113,000 Americans have died.

Although they are now easing, shutdowns across the country have taken their toll on the economy.

Greece, whose economy depends heavily on tourism, has already announced it will reopen its skies from June 15 to a list of countries including non-EU states such as Australia, China and South Korea. Austria and Germany also said they were easing travel restrictions.