News of coronavirus pandemic

New delivery of 800,000 Sputnik V jabs due to arrive in Argentina

19-04-2021 12:18 Flight carrying more than 800,000 Sputnik V vaccines due to arrive at Ezeiza international airport later this evening. With this latest shipment, Argentina will now have taken delivery of more than nine billion doses.

The P1 or 'Brazilian' variant: what we know about new Covid strain

19-04-2021 11:58 Here's what we know about The "Brazil variant" — a more contagious mutation of the coronavirus that emerged in the Amazon late last year.

IMF: Latin America rebound imperiled by virus resurgence

15-04-2021 16:52 The economic rebound forecast for Latin American this year faces risks from the recent resurgence of Covid-19 and slow vaccine roll-outs, the International Monetary Fund said.

Inflation in Argentina speeds up, prompting government crackdown

15-04-2021 09:44 Argentina’s inflation accelerated last month at the fastest pace since President Alberto Fernández took office in late 2019, experts believe, prompting the government to tighten its unorthodox controls over companies.

Uruguay, once Covid haven, suffers record infections and deaths

09-04-2021 15:25 Uruguay is grappling with one of the world’s highest Covid infection rates, with scores killed weekly, schools shut and a confused and weary population searching for answers.

Brazilian Senate to probe Bolsonaro's handling of pandemic

09-04-2021 11:55 A judge from Brazil's supreme court on Thursday ordered the Senate to create a commission to investigate President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the pandemic, after requests from 32 of Brazil's 81 senators.

Pandemic policy discord deepens Brazil's Covid chaos

07-04-2021 09:33 Changing and poorly explained quarantines, contradictory judgements, erroneous vaccination forecasts: in Brazil, the global epicentre of the pandemic, the fight against the coronavirus is being conducted in the greatest confusion.

MercadoLibre plans to double workforce with 16,000 new jobs

06-04-2021 14:26 Latin American e-commerce powerhouse will double its workforce across the region to handle the surge in online purchases, according to company staff.

Pope Francis urges vaccines for poor in Easter message

04-04-2021 09:04 Pope Francis urged Catholics to remain hopeful in his Easter Sunday address, calling vaccines an "essential tool" in ending the pandemic and urging their swift rollout to the world's poorest countries.

PCR test confirms President Alberto Fernández has Covid-19

03-04-2021 16:47 PCR test confirms Alberto Fernández has been infected with Covid-19; President says he's "fine" during radio interview, hails Sputnik vaccine.

Economic activity up 1.9% in January on previous month

30-03-2021 20:24 Economic activity fell 2% from January 2020, but rose 1.9% when compared to December last year the fastest pace in four months.

Bolsonaro overhauls cabinet as Covid surges in Brazil

29-03-2021 21:28 While speculation had been swirling that Bolsonaro was about to fire foreign minister Ernesto Araujo, who faced criticism for the government's problems securing more Covid-19 vaccines, many of the other changes came as a surprise.

Brazil surpasses 300,000 Covid-19 deaths

25-03-2021 14:50 A total of 300,685 people in Brazil have now died of Covid-19, with Argentina's giant neighbour struggling to deal with an explosion of cases blamed on a local variant of the virus that is believed to be more contagious.

Venezuela won't accept AstraZeneca vaccine through Covax

25-03-2021 14:47 Venezuela informs the Pan American Health Organisation it will not accept the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite having ordered between 1.4 and 2.4 million doses of it through Covax.

Long winter lies ahead for Argentine football

20-03-2021 07:12 One year on from the Covid lockdown, it would be comforting to think that normality, or something approaching it, should now be on the horizon. On this first anniversary, however, there is little optimism on that front.

by Dan Edwards

Thousands march through Buenos Aires to demand food aid, jobs

19-03-2021 00:57 Thousands of people marched in Buenos Aires on Thursday to demand food aid as the economy has battled the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

'Bigger than Neymar': Pandemic propels Brazil doctor to fame

12-03-2021 13:47 Dr. Margareth Dalcolmo was an unknown researcher at public health institute Fiocruz when Covid-19 arrived in Brazil in February 2020, but the soft-spoken expert has since made hundreds of media appearances on the health crisis.

Face mask row gets bawdy in Bolsonaro's Brazil

12-03-2021 01:45 A roiling row over face masks in President Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil veers into not-safe-for-work territory.

Vaccine gains bring Chile's Piñera back from the brink

09-03-2021 13:56 Just over a year ago, Chile’s billionaire president, Sebastián Piñera, had an approval rating of six percent, the lowest in Latin America. Today, his approval rating has leaped as the country vaccinates its population against Covid at a rate that outstrips most of the world.

Without fans, South American clubs lose more at home

08-03-2021 14:24 AFP analysed clubs' results across three first-division seasons in three countries – Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay – and found their home performance declined when fans were barred from stadiums because of Covid-19.