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Argentina is beginning the fourth wave of covid-19, the Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, said on Monday. in the face of a strong increase in infections, although without an increase in deaths or hospitalized by the coronavirus.
“Today we are starting a fourth wave of covid-19 in Argentina that finds us in a totally different situation,” Vizzotti said when speaking at a meeting with all the provincial ministers of Health in the Patagonian town of Villa La Angostura.
In the last weekly record released on Sunday, 33,989 infections were reported, 92% more than the 17,646 cases of the previous week; however, the rate of hospitalizations for covid remained stable, going from 295 to 300 throughout the country.
In the last week, 47 people died from covid, while 76 lost their lives the week before. “We do not have an increase in deaths and hospitalized in intensive care, which is our goal,” said the minister.
Argentina, with a population of 45 million people, has accumulated a total of 9,135,308 infections and 128,776 deaths since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, according to official data.
Beyond the growth of cases when the lowest temperatures begin to be felt in mid-autumn, Vizzotti dismissed the fact that Argentina is thinking of returning to the confinement system to stop infections. “There is no possibility of new closures,” he assured.
Vizzotti affirmed that “thanks to every measure that was taken and the efforts of society, health teams and national, provincial and municipal governments, we have a panorama in relation to vaccination that allows us to move forward in a new stage. of this pandemic.”
Several weeks ago, Argentina began applying the fourth dose of the anticovid vaccine among those over 50 years of age. 83% of Argentines have the complete two-dose schedule, while 49% received one or two booster doses.
Bolivia also announces increase in cases
The Bolivian Ministry of Health also ruled this Monday on the situation of the pandemic in the country, and confirmed the circulation in its territory of the BA2 subvariant of omicron, in addition, it reported that There has been an increase in cases in recent weeks, for which he asked the population to prepare for a possible new wave of the coronavirus.
“We must inform the Bolivian people that for the last epidemiological surveillance report we have already detected the BA2 variant of omicron in the country,” Health Minister Jeyson Auza said at a press conference.
Auza said that the BA2 subvariant was recorded in the most populous departments of Bolivia: La Paz, Cochabamba (center) and Santa Cruz (east).
Likewise, he pointed out that in the last week there was a marked increase in infections, although not directly related to BA2, but mainly at the beginning of the local winter season. In that sense, he reported that in the last week 718 cases were reported throughout the country, 331 more than the previous week.
Bolivia, with a population of 11.5 million people, accumulated since the start of the pandemic (in March 2020), a total of 906,221 infections and 21,943 deaths.
The Health authority also urged the population to continue taking their vaccines against covid-19, as the main weapon to face the virus, as a way to “prepare ourselves for a possible fifth wave that could live later,” he said. According to the latest official data, 55% of the population has a complete vaccination schedule.
*With information from AFP.
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