Covid-19 is slowly retreating across most of North, Central and South America, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) said, reporting that last week the continent's death and infection figures were the lowest in over a year.

Many of the larger Caribbean islands are seeing downward trends, including Cuba, the site of a major Covid-19 outbreak for months, Reuters reports.

However, Paraguay saw a doubling of coronavirus cases in the last week and Belize a sharp jump in Covid-related deaths, the regional health agency said in a briefing.

“We have reason to be optimistic, but we must remain vigilant,” PAHO Assistant Director Jarbas Barbosa said.