Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on the political, media + other going ons in Latin America and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.
- Here’s your glimpse at what’s going on today:
Experts say that although Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations have been trending downward across the country for the last several weeks, the U.S. is still not out of the clear and urged Americans not to abandon social-distancing measures and restrictions. The most recent seven-day stretch averaged a 2% increase in cases and in deaths. [CNN]
- New studies show that a coronavirus variant in Brazil gained the ability to infect some people who had immunity from previous COVID-19 infections. New research also suggests the variant, known as P.1, could also weaken the effectiveness of a Chinese-developed vaccine currently used in Brazil. The variant is one of three that has been circulating around the world, the other two being one mutation first found in the U.K. and another in South Africa. [NYT]
- President Biden is expected to announce a new highly unusual deal brokered by the White House that enables Merck & Co, a large pharmaceutical company, to help manufacture the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine just days ago. [NYT]
- Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Biden met virtually on Monday to discuss migration, the coronavirus, and joint economic and national security issues. López Obrador had said he planned to propose a new immigrant labor program that could bring 600,000 to 800,000 Mexican and Central American immigrants a year to work legally in the United States. [AP]
- Chile’s government’s failure to assertively warn women about defective birth control packets that resulted in nearly 150 unintended pregnancies, according to reproductive rights activists. More than 276,890 packets of oral contraceptives were distributed by the public health care system and quietly recalled later over flaws. [NYT]
- El Salvador’s current governing party and its ally are set to win a two-thirds majority in the legislative assembly. The country held elections over the weekend, with 51% turnout. If the voting results are confirmed, it would consolidate President Nayib Bukele’s power and enable him to choose new judges for the Supreme Court and a new attorney-general free of cross-party negotiations. [BBC]
- Barcelona’s Primavera Sound music festival, which was supposed to include Bad Bunny, Helado Negro and Ela Minus this year, has been cancelled. It had originally been pushed to August and is now expected to take place in 2022. [Billboard Latin]
