Argentina extends quarantine due to rising COVID-19 cases
After 77 days, Argentina’s national quarantine was scheduled to end today. However, as cases have continued to rise, a targeted extension has been scheduled for at least three more weeks.
Argentina has reported more than 20,000 cases and 600 deaths, more than half of which are in Buenos Aires province, which is one of the provinces that will have to continue quarantine until June 28. In the capital, people will be permitted to leave their house for essential work or basic shopping, provided they meet preventative health measures such as wearing a face mask.
Vulnerable neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires have remained under lockdown, which is expected to continue. Argentina has put forth a plan to increase testing in these neighbourhoods, allowing for a potential reopening when numbers start to decrease.
The government claims that the new plan will allow cases to be effectively managed, especially in towns with strict isolation policies, like Villa Azul. Still, former health secretary Adolfo Rubinstein has stated that he feels the government is taking the wrong approach. As cases go up, the government has been becoming stricter on towns with rising cases in order to contain the spread, instead of focusing on the number of hospitalisations. More government action will likely be necessary to sufficiently combat the spread of COVID-19.
Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.
