Argentina: 133% rise in deaths in first week of May compared to April

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to experts, the rise in deaths would be a consequence of an average of 28,000 cases per day registered a month ago. However, the rate of infections is decreasing, which could be the result of the vaccination campaign, experts say.

Concern in Argentina over the second wave of Covid-19 continues, which has prompted increased restrictions by the government, aimed at slowing down the rising pandemic figures.

Over the past few days, a record number of deaths have been registered in the trans-Andean country: on Wednesday, May 5th, 663 deaths were recorded in one day.

According to Clarín newspaper, comparing the number of deaths between the first week of April and the same time in May, there was a 133% increase, i.e. more than double the number of deaths.

However, this is not the case regarding infections, where the increase is lower, with 27.3% more cases in the first week of May.

“The number of deaths is a reflection of the 28,000 daily cases 3 or 4 weeks ago, not of the numbers now,” explained Lautaro de Vedia, infectologist at the Muñiz Hospital and ex-president of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases.

As to whether this could become a nationwide trend, the specialist stated that should this be confirmed “it would be terrible, because it would mean that nearly half of the people who used to die in Argentina every day are dying of SARS-CoV-2.”

In this context, the data analyzed show that the average age of the deceased is lowering, which could be explained by the fact that a large number of older adults have been vaccinated with at least one dose.

As of this Sunday, 66,872 coronavirus deaths have been registered in Argentina.

Source: Clarin