Americas not behaving as if in midst of worsening COVID-19 crisis -regional health official warns

The Americas are not behaving like a region experiencing an ever-graver outbreak of COVID-19, the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned on Wednesday. This rise in infections is alarming but not surprising given relaxed restrictions used to curb virus transmission, PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said at a weekly news conference, adding that vaccination will not be enough to stop this wave of contagion. 'Highly transmissible variants are spreading, and social distancing measures are not as strictly observed as before,' Etienne said. 'We are not acting like a region in the midst of a worsening outbreak.'.