Bolivia adds 2,863 new Covid infections and surpasses 414,000 accumulated cases (June 16)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bolivia reported on Wednesday 2,863 new cases of Covid-19, which raised to 414,513 the accumulated cases since March 2020, in the middle of a third wave that has not let up for more than a month.

The Bolivian Ministry of Health report also reported 88 deaths, bringing the cumulative number of deaths since the pandemic reached Bolivian territory to 15,826.

The regions with the highest number of cases reported this day were Santa Cruz, La Paz, and Cochabamba, the most populated in the country, with 805, 718, and 477 new infections, respectively.

In the other six departments, the new positives ranged between 20 and 235, according to the official report.

So far, 1,594,489 people have been immunized with first doses of anti-virus vaccines, and 556,599 have received second doses as part of the massive government campaign that has reached front-line health personnel, people with basic diseases, journalists, public transport drivers, and people over 40 years of age.

The drugs applied in the country are the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, the Russian Sputnik V, Pfizer, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca.

Bolivia has more than eleven and a half million inhabitants, of which an estimated 7.2 million are the vaccine-eligible group that receives doses according to an age-based schedule.

The third wave of the pandemic that has hit Bolivia since the beginning of May has left days with more than 3,000 cases and more than a hundred deaths, registering a record of 124 deaths the day before.

The arrival of one million Sinopharm vaccines is expected in the following days, while the first batches of second doses of Sputnik V are expected to arrive in July.

Santa Cruz and Cochabamba have been applying some restrictions for some weeks now to contain the advance of contagions, while La Paz began this week with measures such as the reduction of traffic hours for people and vehicles, as well as the suspension of sporting and social events.