Buenos Aires to end lockdown

The COVID-19-related lockdown of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital and largest city, is set to end today, with no certainty as to whether the government will relax other public health rules.

Buenos Aires has faced a stricter stay at home order since November 30, preventing domestic travel and group gatherings. While the travel ban will lift, the government has extended its national social distancing phase, which includes a national mask mandate, until January 31. The government also announced the imminent arrival of the Russian vaccine with immediate plans to vaccinate 10 million people in the first half of next year. Furthermore, a shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines is expected early next year.

The Buenos Aires metropolitan region is extremely important to Argentina’s economy, given its status as the country’s chief port and Argentina’s dependence on the export of agricultural commodities. Argentina’s economy reported a contraction of 10.3% in the third quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2019 due to the COVID-19 global recession. The reactivation of the economy in the metropolitan region will be crucial to the national recovery—the government expects growth to be around 5% of GDP next year.