Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez has said the spread of COVId-19 in Brazil threatens his country’s success in containing the virus. According to Mr Benítez, more than half of Paraguay’s 563 cases were people who had entered from neighbouring Brazil.

The country has spent the last 2 months under a strict lockdown, and most people with the disease are being quarantined in guarded shelters. Meanwhile, Brazil has become the worst-hit country in South America. The 2 countries share a 400 km border which is usually loosely controlled. But President Benitez decided to reinforce and militarize “the most vulnerable parts” of the border.

Mr Benítez is one of several leaders in the region who have expressed concern about Brazil’s fast-developing outbreak. Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez has said that trade between the two countries is a risk, with truckers hauling goods south to his country from Sao Paulo, one of the most infected regions of Brazil.

Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly said that the risk posed by coronavirus has been exaggerated, and has clashed in recent weeks with state governors who have imposed lockdowns. In Brazil, 30 requests for the dismissal of Bolsonaro were already sent to the Chamber of Deputies.