国际英语资讯:COVID-19 cases continue to rise in LatAm, measures taken to prevent spread_时事

国际英语资讯:COVID-19 cases continue to rise in LatAm, measures taken to prevent spread

MEXICO CITY, March 10 -- COVID-19 cases continue to climb up in Latin America, with the region's biggest country, Brazil, reporting Tuesday that its number of confirmed cases rose from 25 to 34.

Of the nine new cases, seven involved people who contracted the disease while traveling abroad and two were locally infected due to contact with previous patients, Brazilian health authorities said.

The authorities also said that there are 893 suspected cases, and 780 others tested negative and were discharged in the country.

In the first measure of its kind, a judge in Brazil's capital city of Brasilia ordered the husband of a confirmed coronavirus patient to undergo testing for the disease after he refused.

Judge Raquel Barbosa also ordered the man, a 45-year-old lawyer, to self-quarantine at home until the test results come out. If he fails to comply, he can be fined the equivalent of 1,075 U.S. dollars.

The case was referred to the judge by the Federal District's Health Secretariat, which said the man reported having symptoms, but declined to be tested.

Brazilians need to modify certain habits, such as shaking hands, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other contagious diseases, a health expert said on Tuesday.

"It's not bad to shake hands, but if I have an infection, I will not shake your hand, I will tell you that I have an infection," said Edimilson Migowski, the president of the Instituto Vital Brazil which is a laboratory run by the state of Rio de Janeiro to produce medications.