Latin America and the Caribbean, the region where the Covid-19 epidemic is most active in recent weeks with 2.7 million infections and more than 121,000 deaths, is the second area in the world with the most detected cases of the disease, ahead of Europe. which totals 2.6 million, according to an AFP balance from official sources.

It is time for countries to look at the numbers. Please do not ignore what the numbers tell you, WHO chief of health emergencies Michael Ryan told a news conference in Geneva.

Although Ryan was responding to a question about Mexico, he specified that the message is addressed to many countries because the problem is not going to disappear by magic.

In the case of Brazil, the epicenter of the pandemic in the region with 1,496,858 infections and almost 62,000 deaths, Ryan noted that although the numbers have stabilized, they have continued to rise.

If you look at the numbers for May they were going up very, very abruptly, the numbers for June have flattened out slightly, (but) they are still going up, the WHO official said.

With different levels of impact, Latin American countries are moving towards normalization.

Uruguay, the small South American nation praised for its successful control of the virus, prepares the Montevideo airport for the first international flights next Sunday and Monday.

Despite the difficulties in Brazil, the bars and restaurants of Rio de Janeiro reopened their doors, limiting their capacity to 50% and with the obligation of keeping two meters between the tables.

Peru has exceeded the threshold of 10,000 deaths from the virus (295,599 infections) and has collapsed hospitals, but on Friday it announced that on July 15 it will resume air transport between the provinces that have emerged from confinement, including Lima where buses transit full of people with a mask.

Chile was released for the first time in four months with a report on Friday of "optimistic figures." The undersecretary of Health, Paula Daza, said that there is a reduction in the number of infected, in the number of active cases and number of recovered. In the last 24 hours, 3,548 new infections were registered, bringing the country to a total of 288,089 infected and 6,051 deaths.

In number of deaths, Europe continues to be the most affected region of the world, with almost 200,000 victims.

Worldwide, the new coronavirus has claimed more than 521,000 lives and caused more than 10.8 million infections, according to AFP.

In the United States, the country hardest hit by the epidemic with more than 128,000 deaths, infections are accelerating. In the past 24 hours, it hit a new daily record with 53,000 infections, a troubling number on the eve of the long weekend of July 4.

Turning a deaf ear to criticism of his handling of the crisis, President Donald Trump was headed to Mount Rushmore on Friday for a fireworks night, which is expected to gather more than 7,500 people.

Several states, such as California and Florida, closed some areas of restaurants, bars, and beaches, and most shows were suspended.

Florida, which posted a daily record of 10,000 cases Thursday, may soon have trouble treating the sick.

If this continues as in the last 14 days for one or two months, "it will reach a point where hospitals in South Florida will not have enough beds," said Carlos Migoya, president of the largest group of hospitals in Miami, the Jackson Health System.

In Europe , where the spread of the virus appears to be under control, measures of easing are announced to try to save the summer season, crucial for many countries.

Starting July 10, travelers arriving in the United Kingdom from 73 countries and territories, including Spain but none from Latin America, will be exempt from the 14-day quarantine imposed by London, the British government reported on Friday.

Among these origins are Spain, France, Italy and Germany.

Spain, another of the most beaten European countries, also announced on Friday that it will reopen its borders with 12 of the 15 countries agreed by the European Union, but not with Algeria, Morocco and China, while the latter do not allow the entry of people arriving from Spain.

With the borders closed by the pandemic, the migration of millions of Moroccans and Algerians residing in Europe who cross Spain every year to vacation in their countries has stopped.

On a medical level, world scientists are still in a race to find the vaccine, while the European Commission on Friday provisionally authorized the use of the antiviral remdesivir for patients, which has become the first authorized remedy for the treatment of Covid-19 in that area.