Coronavirus: Colombia becomes the eighth country to record 1 million cases

Colombia on October 24 became the eighth country in the world to record 1 million coronavirus cases. The country experienced a peak of cases in the month of August. According to the reports by AP, even though the cases have declined, the country still continues to record 8,000 new infections every day. The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected 42,946,446 people worldwide with the global death toll reaching at 1,154,857.

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(Residents line up to take a nasal swab sample for COVID-19 tests, provided for free by the municipal government in Bogota, Colombia. Image Credits: AP)

Cases soar in Colombia

Latin America continues to record more than 100,000 confirmed infections each day. Dr. Luis Jorge Hernández, a public health professor at the University of the Andes in Colombia said, “The behavior of the virus is different. It’s not big resurgences but new outbreaks”. Recently, the country's president Ivan Duque extended the lockdown to battle the virus. He added that the extension is being made to prevent the mass gatherings amid rising COVID-19 cases. According to the reports by AP, approximately 30,000 people have died including a number of medical workers. 

Read: Colombia: Indigenous Groups Demand Meeting With Duque

Talking about coronavirus, Antoinette Sayeh, a Liberian economist and Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, said that Colombia has taken some very strong measures which will help the country to come to a very timely response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said, “The authorities' early response and continuing actions - including the temporary suspension of the fiscal rule to raise health spending, as well as to assist vulnerable households and businesses - are welcome and supporting the economy through the recession”. She added that financial support from the IMF will help Colombia in dealing with the external crisis and also increase the migrants from Venezuela.

Read: Indigenous Groups Demand Meeting With Colombia's President

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(Image Credits: AP)