![An aerial view of a burial site in Chile where the reported coronavirus death toll nearly doubled to more than 7,000 under a new tallying method that includes probable fatalities from COVID-19. [Martin Bernetti/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/6/24/3ca3becbb6bb4cfab75bcc4f4151da87_8.jpg)
MONTEVIDEO, July 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Latin America and the Caribbean topped 150,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, almost half of which have been recorded in Brazil.
The region, with 3,540,060 total cases and 151,022 fatalities, is the area second-hardest-hit after Europe, where a total of 203,793 people have died.
Brazil has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, after the United States, at more than 52,640 fatalities out of 1,145,906 confirmed cases.
![The medical team of the Brazilian Armed Forces arrives at the Cruzeirinho village, Amazonas state, northern Brazil, to assist Indigenous population amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As the new coronavirus has ravaged Brazil, more than 7,000 Indigenous people have contracted the virus, and more than 300 have died. [Evaristo SA/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2020/6/24/6235093ca4684e59a2e8ce1cebba6691_8.jpg)
Mexico, also heavily hit by the virus, was struck Tuesday by a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake.
The quake hit as the country of 127 million people recorded its highest number of cases in a 24-hour period, with 6,288 new infections, according to the Ministry of Health.
Peru, meanwhile, exceeded 260,000 coronavirus cases, as it marked 100 days under mandatory lockdown and received a donation of 250 ventilators from the US.
Its neighbour to the north, Colombia, extended its quarantine until July 15, as its coronavirus cases continue to climb. The country has registered 2,404 deaths out of more than 73,500 cases. — NNN-AGENCIES
