COVID-19 cases rise to 824 in Venezuela

The number of COVID-19 cases in Venezuela rose to 824 after authorities detected 75 new cases: 3 community transmissions, 5 international transmissions, 66 nationals returning from Colombia and 1 from Brazil, informed President Nicolás Maduro Wednesday, May 20, in a briefing at the Miraflores Presidential Palace. Out of the total number of cases in Venezuela, 262 patients have recovered, representing 31.8%. In this regard, out of the 552 active cases, 96% remain in hospitals of the public system, 4% in private clinics, and 10 people have died. During the briefing, the Venezuelan president said that 89% of cases registered on Wednesday are imported; therefore, a cordon sanitaire gas been implemented in the countries’ bordering states. With COVID-19 spreading around the world, more than 44,000 Venezuelans have returned home, fleeing from the xenophobic persecution they were victims of overseas, and received free care in Venezuela’s health system. In the face of this wave of migration, Vice-president Delcy Rodríguez informed that the Bolivarian Government requested the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to «intercede before the migration authorities of Norte de Santander, Colombia, that have delegated this control to organized criminal gangs charging Venezuelan migrants for informal crossing points.» Rodriguez stressed that «the imported cases will be put in mandatory quarantine on border zones to comply with the protective measures.» COVID-19 in the world Worldwide, the number of COVID-19 cases rises to 5,076,678, and the case fatality rate surpasses 329,042 deaths. The United States is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic due to the lack of assistance by the Donald Trump’s administration, resulting in 1,586,012 cases and 94,633 deaths. Spain registers 279,524 cases and 27,888 deaths, while in South America, Brazil has become a hotspot with 291,579 cases and a case mortality rate of 18,859.