Former Role Model Against Coronavirus, Chile Now Among Hardest-Hit Countries

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Two months ago, Chile was admired for its surgical approach to the pandemic, with widespread testing and neighborhood quarantines. Now, the country has one of the world’s highest per capita infection rates, and the Minister of Health was forced to resign.

Initial evaluations suggest Chile followed the model of rich countries, but realized – once again – that a large percentage of its citizens are poor, a reflection of last year’s disassociation between government and nation when the increase in the subway fare triggered mass protests.

“There are areas in Santiago where I was unaware of the magnitude of poverty and crowding,” said Jaime Mañalich, the Minister of Health who resigned Saturday in an interview with a local TV channel on May 28th. It came as no surprise to Chileans who have long complained about the division between elites who have studied abroad and the rest of society.

On Tuesday, Chile recorded 5,013 new cases, pushing the total of infections to 184,449, and said another 31,412 previously unregistered cases would be added in the coming days. This would raise the country’s infection rate well above 10,000 per one million people, more than any other country except Qatar. Some 3,383 people died from Covid-19.

What went wrong

What went wrong in Chile is at the heart of the quarantine debate, which some health experts now claim works well for higher-income citizens but not for the most disadvantaged.

In the end, the battle against the virus in Chile seems to have fallen victim to the same factors that triggered crises in other emerging markets – poverty, people living in crowds and a huge casual workforce. Staying at home for long periods is not a real option for many, as the world has painfully learned.

“If the government makes decisions about a world it doesn’t know, it should include people from that world in the decision-making process,” said Diego Pardow, executive president of Espacio Público think tank. “The problem with this government is that it only gets involved with its own people.”

As in the rest of Latin America, the pandemic reached Chile when the wealthy returned from vacations in the US and Europe and spread the virus in offices and social circles. When they were forced to stay home, they were able to isolate themselves in spacious apartments and vacation homes.

President Sebastian Piñera’s government is now rushing to solve the problem. More than 130 “sanitary residences” have been created, where infected individuals for whom isolation would be impossible can move in while recovering.

The government has also imported hundreds of ventilators and more than tripled the number of intensive care beds, allowing hospitals to handle the large number of patients.

On Saturday, Chile also announced a US$12 billion stimulus package that will boost earnings for low-income and unemployed families and subsidize job creation.

Source: Bloomberg

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