Brazil, Colombia represent sources of COVID-19 threat to Venezuela - MPPRE

Brazil, Colombia represent sources of COVID-19 threat to Venezuela

“We have already assessed sources of threat, and it is coming from Colombia and Brazil,” asserted President Nicolás Maduro regarding the high COVID-10 prevalence and fatality rate in bordering countries. The Brazilian president underestimated the lethality of the virus and did not implement early measures to contain its spread in the country. This has resulted in 79,361 cases and the death of more than 5,510 people in Brazil. Colombia today records more than 6,205 cases and the number of deaths rose to 278. In the face of this scenario, the Venezuelan president stressed the need of keeping sanitary measures on bordering zones to contain the virus as he explained that 21,243 Venezuelans have returned through the states of Zulia, Tachira, Apure and Bolivar. Likewise, he revealed that only 13 cases have been detected out of the total number of Venezuelans returning to their country. In this context, he said that 4,147 Venezuelans returned through Zulia state and none of them are infected; 11,633 citizens through Tachira state, with 11 cases; 3,782 through Apure state with no cases detected; and 1,681 through Bolivar state from Brazil with 2 cases detected. President Maduro added that Venezuela is set to receive soon more than 400 citizens in Táchira state who are “fleeing from xenophobia and corona-hunger.”