Reuters – Guatemala has registered its first fatality from coronavirus infection, an elderly man who had recently visited Madrid, Health Minister Hugo Monroy said on Sunday, in one of the first deaths from the outbreak to hit Central America.
Monroy told a news conference the 85-year-old man returned from Spain without showing signs of illness.
Only on Saturday did the man present symptoms of infection and doctors confirmed he had the virus early on Sunday, Monroy added. The man later died in a private hospital.
In contrast to Mexico, some Central American countries have imposed extensive restrictions on their populations in a bid to contain the spread of the virus in the region.
On Sunday, Honduran police moved people off beaches and out of shops and cafes to enforce an order issued by the government on Saturday to prohibit gatherings of more than 50 people.
Panama reported its first coronavirus death earlier this week.