VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

PHOTO : NBCLA

Young people are driving the spread of the coronavirus in the Americas, the head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr. Carissa F. Etienne said on Tuesday, noting that both deaths and caseloads have doubled in the region over the past six weeks. Briefing reporters on a webcast, Dr. Carissa Etienne chastised governments that have rushed economic re-openings despite data that shows a worsening pandemic. The Pan American Health Organization is the Washington-based Americas arm of the UN World Health Organization. Since July, coronavirus cases in the Americas have more than doubled to about 12 million confirmed infections, while deaths have shot up by roughly the same rate to some 450,000.  The vast majority of reported COVID-19 cases in the Americas have been among those between the ages of 19 and 59, but that almost 70% of deaths have been among individuals who are 60 years old or older. She further said, overall, governments should base their re-opening decisions on the best available data and expand testing and contract tracing programs to better identify and control spikes in cases//JP