* Country has confirmed 1,121 coronavirus cases and 10 deaths
* Pandemic is ‘perfect excuse for regime to crack down’ – expert
Venezuelan claims that fewer than a dozen people have died in the country from Covid-19 are nonsensical and likely dramatically underestimate the severity of the situation there, Human Rights Watch activists have claimed.
The South American country, which faced a historic economic depression even before the pandemic, reported its first Covid-19 cases on 13 March and has since confirmed 1,121 cases and 10 deaths.
Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s authoritarian ruler, has imposed a strict lockdown and urged citizens to exercise “maximum discipline” to defeat the coronavirus.
But on Tuesday the New York-based human rights group questioned Venezuela’s official figures as it released a new report on the health crisis facing the Caribbean nation.
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Update #1: Venezuela's official virus data is 'absurd': HRW and Johns Hopkins (AFP)
Update #2: Venezuela health system 'grossly unprepared' for COVID-19 crisis (Al Jazeera)
WNU Editor: According to Venezuela they have 1,121 cases and 10 deaths.
