(COVID -19) Coronavirus in the Americas Lessons Update 10

World Health Organization (WHO)
COVID-19 (World) situation report
Oficial overview and information

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 
COVID-19 (Americas) situation report

‘No evidence’ that recovered COVID-19 patients cannot be reinfected, says WHO. In a scientific brief issued on Friday, the UN health agency said there was no proof that one-time infection could lead to immunity, and “laboratory tests that detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19] in people...need further validation to determine their accuracy and reliability.”

“Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate' that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection,” said WHO, adding: “There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.”...Read more

Policies and Strategies

OAS Launches Portal of Consultations, Forums and Repository on the World during and after the Pandemic. The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) launched a Portal of Consultations, Forums, and Repository about the world during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the Portal is to become an essential forum in which citizens, government officials, civil society and other groups can propose ideas and initiatives that can later become real projects to be implemented with a priority objective: guarantee more rights for all people, beyond the pandemic... Read more

Tap youth talent to tackle COVID-19 crisis and beyond, UN chief tells Security Council. The UN Secretary-General issued a four-point call to action for the Council, urging members to do more to address the various challenges facing young people. He also called for investment in youth participation, but also in their organizations and initiatives.

“We must strengthen human rights protections and protect the civic space on which youth participation depends”, he continued.

“And fourth, we must emerge from the COVID-19 crisis with a determination to recover better – massively increasing our investment in young people’s capacities as we deliver the Sustainable Development Goals”.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are considered the blueprint for a better future for all people and the planet... Read more

Coronavirus in the Americas, live: latest news from Covid-19. 566 Mexicans have died in the US from the pandemic. 54% of Brazilians are in favor of an ‘impeachment’ against Bolsonaro, according to a survey. Chile defends a "medical discharge card" despite the doubts of the WHO... Read more

Tools 

The RIAC Covid-19 Ideas Accelerator. Under SEDI’s Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC), the Organization of American States (OAS) launched this platform to identify and share solution-driven innovative products and services to address some of the most pressing needs generated by COVID-19 (such as low-cost ventilators, masks, sanitizing materials, mobile apps, open collaborative platforms, and more).
The purpose of the platform is to share good practices to support government authorities, local leaders, academic experts, innovators, and entrepreneurs from the Americas and beyond engaged in efforts to address the Covid-19 pandemic. Facilitating collaboration opportunities with timely information, contact points, and new technologies can provide valuable resources for leaders and policymakers... Read more

COVID-19: Map of Solutions and Suppliers. This map shows the products and services offered by companies in Latin America and the Caribbean and the rest of the world as a potential solution to the different challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic... Read more

Opinion and analysis

COVID-19: We are all Yanomami. This indigenous group in Brazil has experienced tragedy and neglect throughout its history. The potentially devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic should not be overlooked. 
Fatal epidemics are not uncommon for the Yanomami people. However, on April 9, many around the world were surprised to learn that COVID-19 had claimed its first victim among those indigenous people from the Amazon jungle who still live relatively isolated along the border between Brazil and Venezuela... Read more

Recommended Events - Past & Future

World Bank. How Can we Sustain Jobs and Provide Safety Nets for those Most in Need? Live conversation with Michal Rutkowski. Global Director, Social Protection & Jobs, World Bank... Watch now

Humanitarian needs and challenges of the migrant population in the response to Covid-19. This second webinar in the series organized by CEPREDENAC addressed the following topics: Situation of migrants under COVID-19 Impact of COVID-19 as a biological threat to migrants Humanitarian needs and challenges of the migrant population in the response to COVID-19 Including migrants and displaced populations in preparedness and response activities before COVID-19... Watch now

(COVID -19) Coronavirus in the Americas Lessons Update 9

World Health Organization (WHO)
COVID-19 (World) situation report
Oficial overview and information

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 
COVID-19 (Americas) situation report

PAHO Director calls to accelerate and expand testing for COVID-19 in the Americas. Washington, DC, April 21, 2020 (PAHO) -The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne, today called for accelerated and expanded testing for COVID-19 in countries of the Americas. “We need a clearer view of where the virus is circulating and how many people have been infected in order to guide our actions,” she said.

Speaking at a virtual press briefing, Dr. Etienne said, “The pandemic continues to impact our region, and it’s vital for all countries to actively embrace preventive measures, while preparing for more cases, hospitalizations and deaths.”
Dr. Etienne highlighted PAHO’s recommendations for countries: to expand their capacity and use all available national laboratories; to prioritize patients with symptoms, tracing contacts and following up with those that may be infected; and to ensure access for all so testing would be free of charge for patients... Read more

Policies and Strategies

OAS Launched Virtual Community of the Emergency and Security Systems of the Americas. The Organization of American States (OAS) today presented the Virtual Platform of Emergency and Security Systems (EMS) a mechanism to support the countries of the region to face the challenges that COVID19 represents for the operations of emergency and security systems.

The Community, presented by the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro; the Secretary for Multidimensional Security of the OAS, Farah Urrutia; and the Chair of the Subsidiary Technical Group for Emergency and Security Services and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the OAS, Ambassador Carlos Játiva, is a common space where authorities and experts in the region can exchange, share and consult information, materials and tools, and access a series of resources to deal with the situation in real time and free of charge... Read more

Human rights ‘uplift everyone’; must guide COVID-19 recovery response, says UN chief. Noting his February Call to Action to put human dignity and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the core of the UN’s work, Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out that today the world is facing “the biggest international crisis in generations”, stressing that human rights “cannot be an afterthought”. 

He emphasized that “people and their rights must be front and centre”, and that human rights “can and must guide COVID-19 response and recovery”. 

Human rights responses can not only help beat the pandemic by putting a focus on the imperative of healthcare for everyone, but also serve as an essential warning system — highlighting who is suffering most, why, and what can be done about it... Read more

Prevention of violence against women against COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the same time as we face the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, as in all regions of the world, it is urgent to face another pandemic that cannot be left in the shadows: violence against women and girls.

This human rights violation affects an average of one in three women throughout their lives1 and, in 2018 alone, resulted in at least 3,800 victims of femicides / feminicides. Although these figures seem very high, it is estimated that the real magnitude of the phenomenon is underestimated and that the health emergency is making it even worse.

In order to guide public, private, civil society and international community actors, this document collects some preliminary data on the impact of the pandemic on violence against women and girls and offers strategies, recommendations, and some promising practices to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in the face of COVID-19... Read more

World Bank Predicts Sharpest Decline of Remittances in Recent History. Global remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 percent in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown. The projected fall, which would be the sharpest decline in recent history, is largely due to a fall in the wages and employment of migrant workers, who tend to be more vulnerable to loss of employment and wages during an economic crisis in a host country. Remittances to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to fall by 19.7 percent to $445 billion, representing a loss of a crucial financing lifeline for many vulnerable households... Read more

Coronavirus in the Americas, live: latest news from Covid-19. The United States adds more than 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. Sergio Moro resigns as Minister of Justice of Brazil after colliding with Bolsonaro. Hundreds of prisoners mutiny in a Buenos Aires jail after the first positive case... Read more

Tools 

Call for institutions to incorporate their online courses into the Educational Portal of the Americas. The Department of Human Development, Education and Employment of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI) of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (SG / OAS) is pleased to open the call for institutions to incorporate their virtual courses into the offer of the Educational Portal of the Americas.
These training opportunities will contribute to meet the development needs of OAS member states by making a vital investment in human capital. Participating institutions will have the possibility of co-certifying different online training programs with the OAS. This call also hopes to include and give visibility to new areas of knowledge on the educational platform... Read more

Iklox. In the face of the health crisis that is hitting everyone by Covid-19, it has decided to provide free training to all those who seek it in these difficult days. Students who successfully complete each of the courses in which they have enrolled will be able to obtain their free accreditation badge. This free training will be enabled throughout the year for all the courses in the catalog. In addition, until May 31, 2020, in some courses that we have been recommending weekly, students can freely download all the course documentation and the certificate / diploma... Read more

Opinion and analysis

The Boom of Online Learning. The Mexican dancer Alejandra Salas was removed by the pandemic caused by the coronavirus. Quarantine has prevented him from working on professional projects. A setback that, far from discouraging her, has allowed her to focus on her future and the skills she has been developing all her life. "What I can do right now is sharpen my tools when the pandemic ends, and being a dancer those are my body and my muscles, that's why I am taking dance classes every day from home," says Alejandra, who graduated less one year. 
He says that as the doors closed throughout the city, he discovered that the art world was opening online. The free course offerings came from famous academies and great dancers from New York, Mexico or Berlin. Suddenly, from his living room, he found himself taking courses from the prestigious Martha Graham Dance Company: "at no time did I think I was going to be able to take a class of that level, as is given in New York." Alexandra can now diversify her skills by exploring dance styles she could never have afford before, from hip-hop to ballet, jazz or bollywood... Read more

Recommended Events - Past & Future

CONVERSATORIO: Desafíos de la gobernabilidad democrática ante el COVID-19 y la promoción de los principios de gobierno abierto. Discussion objective: Open consultation with civil society on possible fields of action of the OAS on issues of democratic governance in the face of the emergency of COVID-19 and promotion of the principles of open government (transparency, accountability, collaboration, and participation) throughout initiative to be carried out by governments. This with the purpose of contributing to the search for joint, consensual, concrete, focused and transparent responses to the fight against COVID-19 in the region. The inputs obtained will be shared with the other international institutions of the Joint Summit Working Group for the development of joint initiatives... Read more

(COVID -19) Coronavirus in the Americas Lessons Update 8

World Health Organization (WHO)
COVID-19 (World) situation report
Oficial overview and information

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 
COVID-19 (Americas) situation report

UN agencies issue urgent call to fund the global emergency supply system to fight COVID-19. Dear donor community, Humanity is collectively facing its most daunting challenge since the Second World War. COVID-19 knows no borders, spares no country or continent, and strikes indiscriminately. By all accounts, we are at least 12 months away from a vaccine.

In this race against an invisible enemy, all countries must fight back, but not all begin from the same starting line. In countries where the world’s most vulnerable need humanitarian aid and supplies to beat back the pandemic, cancelled flights and disrupted supply routes hit disproportionately hard. It is in everyone’s interest to stop the virus from spreading unchecked, destroying lives and economies, and continuing to circle around the world... Read more

Policies and Strategies

General Secretariat Supports President Alvarado's Proposal: Provide Access to Financing under Exceptional Conditions for Middle-Income Countries. The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) supports the initiative of the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado: to protect life and reduce the impact on the economy, middle-income developing countries must access financing in exceptional conditions.

The General Secretariat supports the proposal of President Alvarado who said: "in line with what was announced by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) I call for budgetary support rates to be zero and fixed, as well as long-term."

This initiative is one of the IMF's policy recommendations indicating that measures to face the COVID-19 pandemic must prioritize life and avoid breaking value chains with initiatives such as the transfer of cash and soft loans to homes and businesses... Read more

2020 Latin American and Caribbean Macroeconomic Report. The novel coronavirus is taking a huge toll across the world, and governments in Latin America and the Caribbean are right to take aggressive measures to save lives. Within a matter of weeks, the macroeconomic outlook for the region has changed dramatically. Financing costs have risen, commodities fallen, and large losses of GDP now seem unavoidable. However, the self-imposed partial closure of the economy is anything but a normal recession, and typical countercyclical demand management, both fiscal and monetary, is likely to be inconducive... Read more

Dimension the effects of COVID-19 to think about the reactivation. The objective of this second Special Report prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on the evolution and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean is to measure its economic effects in the short and medium term in the region. For the short term, that is, in the course of 2020, estimates of the dynamics of production and employment are presented based on the information available as of April 17, 2020, covering all the subregions of Latin America and the Caribbean and many of their economies. Likewise, the main macroeconomic policy measures to face the effects of the pandemic announced up to that date are detailed... Read more

Coronavirus in the Americas, live: latest news from Covid-19. México declara el comienzo de la fase 3 de la pandemia. México y EE UU acuerdan extender 30 días más las restricciones al tránsito en su frontera | Las ventas de empresas en Argentina han caído más del 64% por la cuarentena... Read more

Tools 

e-Discussion on Women’s Leadership in the COVID-19 Response. With nearly two million cases and over one hundred thousand deaths deplored, the stakes are too high to ignore women’s voices and the perspectives and resources they bring to the table. This e-Discussion raises awareness about the lack of women’s leadership and representation in relief and recovery decision-making and on the importance of incorporating gender-sensitive responses during and after the crisis. Women and men in politics, civil society activists, practitioners and researchers are invited to join this e-Discussion from 15 April to 8 May 2020. The submissions will contribute to the elaboration of a Consolidated Reply that will augment the knowledge base available on the topic... Read more

Opinion and analysis

An Uncertain Energy Future. With a pandemic on the march, economies in near-paralysis, and a collapse in oil prices to boot, the energy sector is facing a new set of uncertainties. How might these factors shape the region’s long-term energy future? How will oil-exporting countries fare? Will the momentum for renewable energy falter? Are there new opportunities to improve resilience? These are just some of the questions experts from around the Americas have been tackling as they examine a world that has been upended in a matter of weeks... Read more

The culture of Earth Day. When Earth Day began on April 22, 1970, many people wondered if the end might be near. Concern was fervent enough, in fact, that 20 million Americans — 10 percent of the population — packed demonstrations and teach-ins in cities and towns around the nation.

Nobel-winning Harvard biochemist George Wald articulated the fears in a speech later that year at the University of Rhode Island, warning that civilization would end within 15 to 30 years unless immediate action were taken against threats facing mankind, including pollution, overpopulation, and potential nuclear war... Read more

Recommended Events - Past & Future

Art + Environment: An Essential Dialog. The AMA | Art Museum of the Americas of the Organization of American States (OAS) wishes health and safety to you and yours. The museum is currently closed due to COVID 19 restrictions. We are pleased to present ART + ENVIRONMENT: An Essential Dialog, in partnership with Earth Day Network, through the Zoom Virtual Conferencing Platform.

Earth Day Panel Talk: Art and Our Environment: An Essential Dialog, in conjunction with the exhibition DIALOG: Landscape and Abstraction | Freya Grand and AMA’s Permanent Collection... Read more

COVID 19 cycle of presentations on the development of the pandemic in Spain. Educational Format, in alliance with the OAS, has organized a series of presentations aimed at transferring information on the development of the COVID19 Pandemic during the past weeks in Spain, starting that the process in the slowdown phase is currently estimated. Educational Format is an International Business School with more than 10 years of experience in training of professionals from all over Latin America. In the 11 completed editions of his programs, it has trained more than 4,000 professionals. The objective of this action is to provide some useful information to the sectors most related to the management of the crisis in Latin America... Read more

Landscape Roundtable | Territorial Perspectives for Development. Join FAO and EcoAgriculture for the next Landscape Roundtable to hear about the most recent developments on territorial perspectives for development and their links with integrated landscape management.

This Roundtable will explore the insights and innovations of territorial approaches, and their relationship with integrated landscape management and rural-urban linkages... Read more

(COVID -19) Coronavirus in the Americas Lessons Update 7

World Health Organization (WHO)
COVID-19 (World) situation report
Oficial overview and information

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 
COVID-19 (Americas) situation report

UN chief calls for greater protection for children caught up in COVID-19 crisis. In a statement on the new findings, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for urgent action to support the world’s children amid the universal crisis. “Thankfully, children have so far been largely spared from the most severe symptoms of the disease. But their lives are being totally upended”, he said. “I appeal to families everywhere, and leaders at all levels: protect our children.”

The report finds that the socio-economic impact of the pandemic, together with measures to mitigate the spread of the new coronavirus, could potentially be catastrophic for millions of children worldwide. It details how the crisis is putting young lives at risk in key areas that include education, food, safety and health... Read more

Policies and Strategies

Permanent Council Approved Resolutions on Virtual Meetings and OAS Response to COVID-19. In the first virtual meeting in its history, the OAS Permanent Council approved two resolutions. The first, titled "Virtual Meetings of the Permanent Council due to the COVID-19 Pandemic" and the second, "The OAS Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic". The two resolutions were approved by acclamation... Read more

Coherent Policy Response Needed to Overcome Coronavirus Crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region is seeing a sharp decline in growth due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) crisis, which requires several policy responses to support the most vulnerable, avert a financial crisis, and protect jobs, according to a new report form the World Bank.

o help the vulnerable face the loss of earnings from the lockdown, existing social protection and social assistance programs should be rapidly scaled up and their coverage extended, according to “The Economy in the Time of Covid-19,” the latest semiannual report from the World Bank’s Chief Economist Office for Latin America and the Caribbean... Read more

Coronavirus in the Americas, live: latest news from Covid-19. Latin America exceeds 4,000 deaths from the virus.Trump presents a plan to resume activity in mid-June. Bolsonaro dismisses the Brazilian Minister of Health. Mexico extends restrictions until end of May... Read more

Tools 

MSMEs will be able to make free web pages for their businesses in 15 minutes. Small and medium-sized companies will have the opportunity to make web pages free of charge in 15 minutes for their businesses, thanks to a partnership made by Mintic, the OAS and Kolau. The initiative is aimed at all MSMEs in the country, especially small neighborhood businesses, such as shops, bakeries and drugstores, among others, which require maintaining a communication channel with their close customers, so that they know them and can access the same... Read more

COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response. Most governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. These nationwide closures are impacting over 91% of the world’s student population. Several other countries have implemented localized closures impacting millions of additional learners.

UNESCO is supporting countries in their efforts to mitigate the immediate impact of school closures, particularly for more vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, and to facilitate the continuity of education for all through remote learning... Read more

Resources for Ministries of Education: COVID-19 crisis response. The Technical Secretariat of the Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE) has put together the following resources to make them available for Ministries of Education of the region in order to support their work during the COVID-19 crisis. CIE is a permanent ministerial dialogue mechanism responsible for the development and follow-up on the lines of action established by the Ministers of Education to respond to the mandates emanating from the Inter-American Meetings of Ministers of Education, the General Assembly and the Summits of the Americas... Read more

IDB Coronavirus Impact Dashboard. Daily and weekly data on changes in COVID-19 cases, traffic congestion, public transport and air quality...Read more

Opinion and analysis

Earth Today | No ‘Recession’ For Climate Change. “Climate change is not going into recession because of COVID-19. Things are really accelerating right now, like in the Arctic and Greenland where the ice sheets are melting at a much faster rate than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” Renowned physicist Professor Anthony Chen told The Gleaner. Eleanor Jones, head of the consultancy firm Environmental Solutions Limited, is of a similar view.

“We have to take charge of our own vulnerability. We know we are vulnerable and need to ensure that our own path takes that into account. Nobody is going to come in and do it for you,” she said... Read more

Women health workers: Working relentlessly in hospitals and at home. Women globally make up over 70 per cent of workers in health, including those working in care institutions. They are on the front line of the fight against COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic they are facing a double burden: longer shifts at work and additional care work at home. Take Alberta Delle Grazie. She is the Head Nurse of an intensive care unit in a hospital in the North of Italy. Her work entails long hours, night shifts, and a high level of responsibility. “It was already difficult before,” she told me, “but right now, after three weeks of the COVID-19 emergency, we are exhausted, worried and emotionally drained. Many of us have been infected, some have died.”... Read more

Harvard study suggests that social distancing could continue until 2022. Single confinement will not stop the new coronavirus, and repeated periods of social estrangement in 2022 will be required to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed and the health system from collapsing, scientists at Harvard University in the United States said Tuesday, simulating the trajectory of the pandemic. The study occurs when the United States reaches the peak of its number of COVID-19 cases - with more than 26,000 deaths and 600,000 infections - and the States of that nation observe an eventual relaxation of the harsh restrictive measures... Read more

Recommended Events - Past & Future

[Webinar]: Analyzing the behavior of air pollutants during the Covid-19 global lockdown. With millions of people sheltering in place as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, cities across the world are seeing dramatic changes in the behavior of air pollutants resulting from sharp drops in regional traffic, commerce and industrial activity. 

Data compiled by air quality monitoring stations in Latin American cities have shown major improvements in air quality over the past weeks and in the same period one year ago. Although this might not be the general outlook for all cities, the current situation offers a momentary view into what happens to the air we breathe when emissions are reduced in a radical and sudden way... Read more
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llSustainability After COVID-19: Voices from Leading International Organizations (GGGI, OECD, UNEP and the World Bank). In this webinar, we will hear from leading institutions - the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank - on critical questions around sustainability after COVID-19... Register

Virtual Conference: Global Cooperation for the Environment: Policy, Technology, and Action. To celebrate 50 years since the founding of Earth Day, the Wilson Center invites you to join us for a reflection on global cooperation for the environment through the lens of policy, technology, and action. The world has changed from the first Earth Day, with landmark wins balanced by new challenges—ocean plastics, climate change, water insecurity—affecting environmental policy and action. Wednesday, April 22, 20209:00am - 12:00pm... Livestream