Covid-19 cases in the Western Hemisphere have reached 5.9 million, with half of the infections attributed to Latin America and the Caribbean, and cases are accelerating, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director said Tuesday. "This is a pandemic of staggering proportions, and we have no option but to continue to put all our energy into controlling it," Carissa Etienne said in a virtual briefing from Washington with Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) directors. Two months ago, the United States accounted for 75 percent of the Covid-19 cases in the hemisphere, Etienne said, warning that the WHO sees acceleration of cases in several U.S. states, most of Central America, and most of South America.
