By Daniel Ramos
LA PAZ (Reuters) – Bolivia reported late on Tuesday an all-time record of 4,934 new cases of COVID-19, as the omicron variant spreads worldwide but without any confirmed cases of the variant in the Andean nation.
“(This is) the worst epidemiological storm that we have lived through since the pandemic started,” said Carlos Hurtado, a top health official in Santa Cruz, the country’s most populated region and the most affected by the spread of the virus.
Bolivia is going through its fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Its previous record number of infections had been of 3,179 cases on May 25, during its third wave, according to Reuters data. https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/bolivia
Several countries worldwide have reported all-time infection peaks in recent days due to the highly transmissible omicron variant, which has been detected in several other South American countries.
Cases have also risen in neighboring Argentina, which earlier this week reported an almost six-month high of COVID infections.
About 70% of Bolivians have been vaccinated against the virus. While South America is now the most-vaccinated region in the world, it also reported some of the worst death toll rates anywhere earlier in the pandemic.
(Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Editing by Mark Porter)
