“All of these efforts have not been wasted. ” Laïus has become usual, the meeting also, every two to three weeks since mid-March: live from the presidential residence of Olivos, in the affluent suburb of Buenos Aires, Alberto Fernandez announces to the Argentines the next steps in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic. The center-left Peronist president, in power for seven months, once again presented, Friday, July 17, the “Good numbers” from Argentina, compared to those from neighboring countries.
As of July 19, Argentina had nearly 127,000 positive cases of Covid-19, of which 2,260 were fatal. The compulsory confinement put in place very early, on March 20, initially made it possible to curb the contagion. But after four months of forced isolation in Greater Buenos Aires – which concentrates a third of the Argentine population and 90% of the country’s cases, the rest of Argentina having gradually deconfigured -, the number of new cases and death is on the rise. On July 15, Argentina recorded 82 deaths, a record since the start of the epidemic.
Despite these figures, “We will try to return to normality gradually, in this new different world”, affirmed Mr. Fernandez. After a very strict isolation phase during the first half of July, the inhabitants of Greater Buenos Aires returned, this Monday, to more flexible confinement. ” I trust you “, said Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, the mayor of Buenos Aires and member of the opposition Republican Proposal party (PRO, right), who presented a plan for progressive deconfinement in six phases.
Doubts and criticisms
The first runs until August 2 and provides, in particular, for the reopening of most local shops and the authorization of running. In the province of Buenos Aires, where the epidemiological situation is more worrying, the restrictions are more numerous. Rather than talking about deconfinement, Governor Axel Kicillof, from the ruling coalition, preferred to use the vague formula of “Intermittent confinement”.
“Relaxing the containment right now is not a very good option, worries Javier Farina, infectious disease specialist, but it is clear that this long situation of isolation had other consequences: economic, psychological, social … The authorities decided to open, while preparing to press the brake pedal if the situation worsens. ” Alberto Fernandez has, in fact, clarified that a return to stricter containment was possible if the epidemic accelerated. In Greater Buenos Aires, for now, the number of Covid-19 cases is doubling on average every 25 days, compared to every 14 days in mid-June.
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