Lockdown of Buenos Aires scheduled to end today
The Argentinian government will today begin to ease lockdown measures in and around Buenos Aires, which has been the epicentre of the domestic COVID-19 outbreak.
Due to high population densities, difficulties implementing contact tracing, and congested public transport, Argentina has struggled to prevent the spread of COVID-19 throughout the capital and the surrounding 13 districts. The city was forced to enter a stricter mandatory quarantine on July 1 following a rapid resurgence that boosted total infections to 33,310. July’s restrictions have only allowed for access to essential activities within permitted sectors such as healthcare, food, banking and government services.
The easing of lockdown measures will allow sports and other recreational activities as well as the return of factories and industrial production in areas of low community transmission. The gradual relaxation, to be enforced alongside strong safety measures such as social distancing and constant disinfection, is expected to bring some relief for Argentina’s economy after a period of slow economic activity that hit small and medium-sized enterprises particularly hard.
The re-opening will alleviate some damage inflicted on the informal sector, which is particularly dependent on daily income. Expect leadership to allow nonessential manufacturing and service jobs to resume activities in a limited format, as authorities intend to contain possible sources of future transmission.
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