Pan American Health Organization Response to COVID-19 in the Americas, 17 January to 31 May 2020

Abstract

Following an outbreak of a novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China, rapid community, regional and international spread has occurred across the globe, with exponential growth in the number of cases and deaths. On 30 January 2020, the Director-General (DG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005). The first case in the Americas was confirmed in the USA on 20 January 2020, followed by Brazil on 26 February 2020. COVID-19 has now spread to all 54 countries and territories in the Americas. By 26 May 2020, cases and deaths in Latin America surpassed Europe and the United States in the daily number of reported coronavirus infections. By June, two of the three countries with the highest number of reported cases are in the Americas, making this region the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.