Brazil and Mexico reported record daily coronavirus death tolls as governments in Latin America battled to fortify defences against the accelerating pandemic with fresh lockdown orders and curfews.
European nations are emerging from months of devastation with some borders reopening, but South and Central America have become the new hotspots in a crisis that has claimed at least 385,000 lives worldwide.
Mexico announced more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a day for the first time, while Brazil reported a record 1,349 daily deaths.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has staunchly opposed lockdowns but many local authorities have defied him and, with the crisis deepening, a vast section of Bahia state was placed under curfew yesterday.