Pan American Health Organization Response to COVID-19 in the Americas

COVID-19 has now spread to all 54 countries and territories in the Americas. By 26 May 2020, cases and deaths in Latin America had surpassed Europe and the United States in the daily number of reported coronavirus infections. Since June, and up until the time of this update to the report, the region of the Americas remains the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. By 31 August 2020, six of the ten countries with the highest number of reported cases globally are located in the Americas, although currently trends are decreasing in terms of both cases and deaths. 

This report updates an earlier version on PAHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was published in June 2020. It documents PAHO’s efforts from the earliest days of the pandemic, when the Organization rapidly mobilized its experts, shipped in procuring these goods to support national efforts to combat the virus. Meanwhile, a global push is underway to and a safe and effective vaccine and new treatments for COVID-19 case management. This updated version captures PAHO’s response efforts during the three months that followed, in a changing and uncertain environment. The number of cases and deaths, while still dwarfing other regions, are on a gradual decline in many countries in the Region. However, cases are spiking in other countries that previously had seen relatively few cases once they had implemented strict public health measures.