The Americas are seeing a rapid increase in coronavirus cases, WHO says

(CNN) - The Americas, especially Latin America and the Caribbean, are seeing a rapid increase in the number of new coronavirus cases, the World Health Organization said Monday.

“Five of the 10 countries worldwide reporting the highest new number of cases in the past 24 hours are in the Americas: Brazil, USA, Peru, Chile and Mexico,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO executive director of Health Emergencies Program.

The countries reporting the biggest increases in new numbers: Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Haiti, Argentina and Bolivia.

Ryan said “many many weeks ago” the world was focused on South Asia and Africa as potential hot spots. Now, “to a certain extent, the situation in those two settings are still difficult, but it's stable. Clearly the situation in many South American countries is far from stable. There’s been a rapid increase in cases, and those systems are coming under increasing pressure,” he said.

“I would certainly characterize that Central and South America in particular have very much become the intense zones of transmission for this virus as we speak,” Ryan added.

“And I don't believe that we have reached the peak in that transmission, and at this point, I cannot predict when we will.”

This story was first published on CNN.com, "The Americas are seeing a rapid increase in coronavirus cases, WHO says"