Deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean from COVID-19 topped 500,000 yesterday, and cases soared above 15 million amid holiday festivities, according to a Reuters tally of figures in official government reports. Photo: Internet Source

More than a third of the deaths occurred in Brazil, according to the Reuters tally, Latin America’s largest country, which separately reported its worst daily death toll from the novel coronavirus since Sept. 15.

More than a quarter of Latin America’s deaths were in Mexico, which, like Brazil, has struggled with a fresh wave of infections, with rising hospitalizations forcing Mexico City into a semi-lockdown.

Regional health authorities have expressed concern about the impact of year-end celebrations on health systems that were stretched to the limit in mid-2020.

Brazil recorded 58,718 additional confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, along with 1,111 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

Brazil has registered nearly 7.6 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 192,681, according to ministry data.

Efforts to roll out new vaccines in countries including Mexico, Chile and Argentina have provided a glimmer of hope for some parts of the region but Brazil and several other Latin American nations have struggled to get such efforts underway.