MEXICO CITY, March 10 -- COVID-19 cases continue to climb up in Latin America, with the region's biggest country, Brazil, reporting Tuesday that its number of confirmed cases rose from 25 to 34.
Of the nine new cases, seven involved people who contracted the disease while traveling abroad and two were locally infected due to contact with previous patients, Brazilian health authorities said.
The authorities also said that there are 893 suspected cases, and 780 others tested negative and were discharged in the country.
In the first measure of its kind, a judge in Brazil's capital city of Brasilia ordered the husband of a confirmed coronavirus patient to undergo testing for the disease after he refused.
Judge Raquel Barbosa also ordered the man, a 45-year-old lawyer, to self-quarantine at home until the test results come out. If he fails to comply, he can be fined the equivalent of 1,075 U.S. dollars.
The case was referred to the judge by the Federal District's Health Secretariat, which said the man reported having symptoms, but declined to be tested.
Brazilians need to modify certain habits, such as shaking hands, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other contagious diseases, a health expert said on Tuesday.
"It's not bad to shake hands, but if I have an infection, I will not shake your hand, I will tell you that I have an infection," said Edimilson Migowski, the president of the Instituto Vital Brazil which is a laboratory run by the state of Rio de Janeiro to produce medications.
In Chile, its Health Ministry said four new patients were identified in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 17 in the country.
"We continue to be in Phase 2, that is when cases are imported or spread within the country by the imported cases," the Health Ministry's undersecretary of assistance networks, Arturo Zuniga, said at a press conference.
Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich said anyone arriving from Spain and Italy, the two European countries with high rates of infection, must remain in quarantine at home for up to two weeks to determine whether they have the virus or not.
"They will be given medical leave if needed" to be absent from work without being penalized by employers, Manalich told reporters.
Costa Rica said its number of cases has reached 13 after four more cases were detected, including two kids and two adult males. The new cases are linked to a prior patient currently in the hospital.
In Peru, officials confirmed two new cases, raising the total to 11 in the country. Health Minister Elizabeth Hinostroza said the new patients are two brothers from the central Huanuco region who recently returned from a trip to Europe.
Paraguay's Health Ministry reported its second confirmed case of the coronavirus: an elderly patient, 83, who recently arrived from Argentina.
Meanwhile, the Argentine government announced it was earmarking 1.7 billion pesos (27 million U.S. dollars) to better combat the coronavirus, which has so far infected 17 people and led to one death in the country.
The money will be spent on upgrading laboratory and hospital equipment.
Reasonable Consumption 合理消费
国际英语资讯:Kazakh President Nazarbayev resigns
How to Relieve Pressure 如何减压
阿里巴巴6.9亿美元投资申通快递
国内英语资讯:Chinese vice president meets Pakistani Foreign Minister
体坛英语资讯:Chinese volleyball skipper Zhu Ting confirms leaving Turkeys VakifBank
国际英语资讯:Trump nominates former Delta executive to lead federal aviation authority
国内英语资讯:Xi underscores firm implementation of major reforms
The Imagination of Future Transportation 对未来交通的畅想
国内英语资讯:Chinas new relay satellite to help video calls possible with space station
娱乐英语资讯:Grammy-nominated rapper shot dead in Los Angeles
抑郁症是一种什么体验?
体坛英语资讯:Valencia, Villarreal through, Sevilla out after dramatic night in Europa League
My Favorite TV Program 我最喜欢的电视节目
肯德基保护秘密食谱的地方能防核弹
体坛英语资讯:World top bowlers to vie in Indonesia this year
如何正确清洁牙齿
Plaints Over Pets 爱植物胜过宠物
体坛英语资讯:Guangdong, Beijing win to open CBA play-offs second phase
中国驻外使馆开通支付宝和微信支付
国际英语资讯:New Zealand police offers 65,000 USD reward for info of 1995s murder
体坛英语资讯:Alisson happy and adapted to life at Liverpool
国内英语资讯:Xinhua Headlines: European enterprises bullish about growth prospect in China
国内英语资讯:Cooperation is only right choice for China, U.S.: diplomat
国家发改委:将推动景区更大范围,更大力度降价
大气层里的二氧化碳突破历史新高
2019年6月六级作文范文:校园道德建设
谢谢你,我们家的英雄司机
国内英语资讯:Xi congratulates China Law Society congress
自己给自己的恩赐