RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — With nearly 30,000 dead in Brazil and more than 10,000 dead in Mexico, the novel coronavirus pandemic threatens to shatter hospital systems across Latin America — while France, which is emerging from a similar nightmare scenario, began on Tuesday a gradual return to normality.

Four of the 10 countries showing the greatest number of new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours were in Latin America, the World Health Organization's Emergencies Director Michael Ryan said.

“Countries are having to work very, very hard to both understand the scale of infection but also health systems are beginning to come under pressure across the region,” said Ryan, speaking at a virtual press conference from Geneva.

Mexico also began reopening on Monday, reactivating the automotive industry, mining, and construction, even though the country has recorded more than 10,000 coronavirus-related deaths — second only to Brazil in Latin America.

In Russia, Moscow shopping malls and parks reopened on Monday, even though the country ranks third in the world in new daily cases.