The government of Alberto Fernández extended the night curfew on Wednesday, suspended face-to-face classes in schools and canceled social activities in closed spaces in and around Buenos Aires until April 30 to avoid saturation of the health system by increasing coronavirus infections.
After the announcement of the president in a recorded message, protests were heard in various neighborhoods of the capital, and it remains to be seen if his mayor, the opposition Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, will comply with the provisions of the federal government.
“The virus is attacking us and it is far from giving in,” said Fernández. “Just a month ago we accumulated 45,498 cases of infections, while the week that just ended we accumulated 122,468 cases, and the week that is passing at this time will surely exceed this figure.”
Argentina reported 25,157 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours on Wednesday, bringing the total number to 2.6 million infected. The dead, meanwhile, were 368 and add up to a total of 58,500.
The highest percentage of cases are concentrated in the capital and its surroundings. Bed occupancy in most private and public intensive care units is at its peak, something that did not happen at the worst moment of the pandemic in 2020.
The president announced that starting at midnight on Friday there will be a night curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. At present the circulation was restricted from midnight.
The other measure that caused surprise was the suspension of face-to-face classes at the three levels of education. Schools were closed in Argentina for much of 2020 and reopened in February of this year, something demanded by the majority of students and families, although the unions rejected it.
The government also suspended recreational, social, cultural, sports and religious activities in closed spaces, and commercial activities must close at 7 in the afternoon. The bars and restaurants will operate in the home delivery mode from 7 in the afternoon.
“The contagion is not in the factories, it is not centrally in the businesses that with social distance can serve customers. The central problem is in social gatherings where people relax, and at that moment of distraction, of relaxation, it is much easier to contract the virus, “said Fernández.
Faced with the uncertainty generated by the shortage of vaccines, the president indicated that “we continue tireless negotiations with everyone, consulting everyone who may be a supplier of vaccines so that these vaccines reach Argentines.”
Until now, the South American country has inoculated 60% of the health personnel with the complete scheme; 65% of people over 80 years old with the first dose, and more than 60% of people between 70 and 79 years old with the first dose.
The vaccines that are applied are Sputnik V, Sinopharm and AstraZeneca.
Argentina has received 7.3 million doses of vaccines so far.
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