Argentina has surpassed 1 million virus cases, only the 5th country to do so

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina reached 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases Monday, making it the second nation in Latin America to reach the grim milestone and only the fifth in the world to do so.

The Ministry of Health said 1,002,662 people have now been diagnosed with the virus, and 26,716 have died.

Brazil reached 1 million cases in June and now reports 5.2 million total.

Latin America is one of the worst hit regions and home to half the 10 nations reporting the highest number of confirmed cases. Three other nations in Latin America are expected to reach 1 million cases in the coming weeks — Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

The region’s high caseload is due to a combination of factors including weak public health systems, limited testing and contact tracing, and social issues like poverty.

Though some nations have seen important declines, overall there has been little relief, with cases dropping in one municipality only to escalate in another.

The trajectory is showing that the pandemic is likely to leave no corner of Latin America unscathed.