Coronavirus in Argentina: the 15 provinces that have community transmission

After a record day of infections in Argentina, where they were reached all 8,225 new positive cases of coronavirus Covid-19, The Ministry of Health of the Nation reported that there are 15 provinces that currently have regions where there is community circulation del virus SARS-CoV-2.

Until last night, of the total infections, 1,172 (0.3%) were classified as imported, as a result of the person contracting the virus outside the country. Most of these cases occurred at the beginning of the arrival of the pandemic in Argentina and were tourists. On the other hand, 80,662 (25.1%) are close contacts of confirmed cases. Those who represent the highest percentage and that most concern the authorities are the 196,370 (61.2%) cases of community circulation. Here are grouped the people who could not be traced how they contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The rest, 42,682 (13.4%), are in epidemiological research. That is, it is not yet known how they contracted the disease that has already caused more than 6,500 deaths in the country.

During today’s morning press conference, Carla Vizzotti, Secretary of Access to Health of the Nation, announced that began to “visualize a downward curve” of cases in the Metropolitan Area of ​​Buenos Aires (AMBA) and a “slowdown” of new infected. However, he clarified that it is still far from having overcome the pandemic in the country.

At that moment It was that he reported that 15 provinces have a locality, party or region where community transmission of the virus occurs. According to the detail, published on the website of the Ministry of Health of the Nation, the places are:

• Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
• Metropolitan Area of ​​the province of Buenos Aires (the forty districts that surround the city of Buenos Aires)
• Chaco: Resistencia, Barranqueras, Fontana and Puerto Vilelas
• Río Negro: Bariloche, Cipolletti and General Roca
• Neuquén: City of Neuquén, Plottier, Centenario, Cutral-co and Plaza Huincul
• Mendoza: Guaymallén, Godoy Cruz, Luján de Cuyo, Maipú and the Capital city
• Jujuy: Manuel Belgrano, Ledesma, El Carmen and San Pedro
• La Pampa: Santa Rosa, Catriló and Macachín
• Cordoba: City of Cordoba
• Tierra del Fuego: Rio Grande
• Santa Cruz: Gallegos River
• Entre Ríos: Paraná
• Tucumán: San Miguel de Tucumán
• La Rioja: Chamical and Capital
• Santa Fe: Rosario, Gran Rosario, Casilda, San Lorenzo and Venado Tuerto

While, the provinces where community circulation is controlled are: Formosa, San Luis, San Juan, Catamarca, Misiones, Santiago del Estero, Chubut, Salta and Corrientes.

Consulted by these statements, Eduardo Lopez, infectious disease doctor and head of the Department of Medicine of the Ricardo Gutiérrez Children’s Hospital, told THE NATION: “In recent days, between 20 and 30 percent of new cases were registered outside the AMBA that came to have 93% of all infections in the country “.

“Growth is taking place, even in municipalities in the interior of the province of Buenos Aires where there is an increase in the number of cases and which already represent more than 10% of the total cases in the province. More attention must be paid to these areas of the interior of Buenos Aires “, alerted López.

On the evolution of the pandemic 172 days after the first positive case in the country, he said: “Where it is seen that the curve has a clear downward trend is in the city of Buenos Aires. In the Conurbano you can see a curve that is flat enough to start the descent. Furthermore, the cases were not markedly increased. Likewise, you have to wait between seven and 10 days to see if this curve is already straightforward. This would mean that we are in the first step of how the curves go down, which is the smoothing, down “.

“For example, the highest peak in Spain was 8,500 cases, more or less, and it stayed 14 days. Then it dropped slightly to 7000, 6500; another two weeks and then there was a large and faster decline, “said the infectologist, who is one of the government’s advisers during the pandemic, adding:” This means that one could add commercial and social activities, at least in The city of Buenos Aires. Then we would have to wait for the second step down to analyze opening other activities such as going back to schools. “

For López, “the curve will go downhill.” “The growth of cases in the interior of the country was not expected. This delayed the decrease in the number of cases. We must be very attentive to the health system in the interior of the country. Some will not feel it. Others will” , he remarked.

“We believe that in the next two to three weeks we will see the greatest tension in the health sector in some inland provinces. If there is no disaster in any place, this would happen, “said López and asked:” The health system in the interior of the country does not have all the complexities. You have to provide them with the infrastructure and staff. “

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