BOGOTA, Colombia
As the economic toll from confinement measures due to the coronavirus pandemic rises in Latin American countries, governments are thinking about gradually reopening certain industries.
But countries in the region continue to witness power struggles between local and national governments over such a move.
The following is a summary of conditions in the region with data from US-based Johns Hopkins University as of Wednesday.
Brazil
Mass graves are being dug in the city of Manaus in Amazonas state to bury the victims of the coronavirus pandemic amid a lack of space at cemeteries due to the overwhelming number of deaths in the last few days.
Manaus Mayor Arthur Virgilio criticized Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro for failing to implement confinement measures and for neglecting to provide necessary assistance in the distressed region.
“Although we live in such a critical situation, probably the most serious in Brazil, so far, we have not received any help from the government to expand our specialized medical care at Gilberto Novaes Municipal Campaign Hospital,” Virgilio said Tuesday on his Twitter account.
He said the healthcare system is no longer able to serve those in need of treatment and people have begun to die at home.
According to the Amazonian press, around 100 bodies are being buried in Nossa Senhora cemetery every day compared to around 30 before COVID-19.
According to the latest official data, Manaus, the most populous city in the region, recorded 163 fatalities and 1,809 cases. But health professionals say official figures do not reflect reality because many deaths are not recorded as being caused by the pandemic and a significant number of people are dying in their homes due to a lack of hospital bed capacity.
Brazil recorded 166 new fatalities from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s death toll to 2,769, while the number of people infected with the virus has reached 43,592.
Colombia
Tensions continued to escalate between the Colombian government and local leaders as President Ivan Duque began announcing measures to open up the country's economy after more than a month of confinement.
The biggest clash arose between Duque and Claudia Lopez, the mayor of Bogota, a city of more than 8 million people. The result of the misunderstanding has created uncertainty in the capital, where there are 1,752 coronavirus cases out of 4,149 nationwide.
While the president claims conditions are in place for some companies to resume operations and for workers to return to work in the construction and manufacturing sectors, Lopez said there are great risks involved in the mobility of these workers.
“This means 1,127,000 [bus] trips every day, which would pose a health risk for workers,” she tweeted.
The disagreement occurred on the same day the president made a speech about the reopening of El Dorado International Airport in Bogota.
"They will reopen on April 27 over my dead body. No way. That would be irresponsible," Lopez said.
Colombia has 4,149 cases of the disease and 196 fatalities.
Chile
An announcement by the Ministry of Health to end as of Thursday a mandatory quarantine that has been in effect in the cities of Chillan and Chillan Viejo for the last three weeks provoked immediate reactions from the mayors of both municipalities, who said the cities are not ready to resume economic activity.
Chile has confirmed more than 11,296 cases of the coronavirus in the nearly two months since the outbreak began.
Neither the coronavirus nor the quarantine or the announcement of the lifting of the confinement measures prevented Chileans from rallying on Monday.
Police arrested 14 people who attended an anti-government protest in Santiago this week due to a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people.
As they have done since October 2019, people went out to protest against low salaries, pensions and the high cost of living in the country.
The country is now issuing “immunity passports” to those who have successfully recovered from the virus.
Ecuador
Due to the difficult situation Ecuador is going through, Colombian authorities fear that people infected with the coronavirus will cross the border between the two countries.
The mayor of the Colombian city of Cali, Jorge Ivan Ospina, is calling for the closure of the border with Ecuador, which has more than 10,850 cases and 537 coronavirus-related deaths.
"Do you want to come to my country? Okay, first we need a negative test," he said.
Dominican Republic
The country has reported a total of 5,300 confirmed cases and 260 deaths. Health Minister Rafael Sanchez Cardenas said Wednesday that a decline in the number of coronavirus cases in the country is expected to occur in late May or early June.
Mexico
Mexico has reached "Phase 3," the most serious phase of the pandemic. According to health authorities, this means the virus will spread the fastest, hitting its peak in the first days of May.
The number of reported infections in the Central American country is 9,501 with 857 deaths.
