Bolivia Once Again Beat its Daily Record of COVID-19 Infections With 2,655 Confirmed Cases

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL –  Bolivia has been going through the second wave of infections from the new coronavirus since the end of last year, with more than 2,000 cases a day, something that had not happened since July and August, even exceeding that first stage.

The latest data from the Ministry of Health show 2,655 new infections, which raises 193,745 confirmed cases with a curve that shows a marked rise in positives for days in this country, of about eleven and a half million inhabitants.

The previous daily record of confirmed cases was from January 15th, when 2,573 infections of the disease were registered.

The new deaths registered on this day were 42, with which the deceased amount to 9,764 since last March, when the disease was detected in the country for the first time.

Santa Cruz, La Paz and Cochabamba, the three main Bolivian regions, are the most affected by the pandemic, with 1,158, 513 and 225 new positives, respectively.

The new confirmed cases in the other six regions range between 37 and 196, according to the official report.

National authorities attribute the increase in cases to bulk testing application to detect the disease early.

The Government of Luis Arce, which has been in office for just over two months, in December lifted a ban on mass events in order to reactivate the economy, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.

The Bolivian Executive has ruled out returning to the rigid quarantine that was applied last year, although a few days ago approved new provisions which include the application of continuous working hours, which can be staggered, in addition to teleworking as a preferred option.

Some subnational governments decided to suspend massive activities such as the carnival celebrations and they also opted to return to a “dynamic quarantine” with the reduction of circulation hours and restrictions for some activities, among other measures.

The Maple government assured the purchase of Russian Sputnik V vaccines and those developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, whose arrival is scheduled for March and April, respectively.

The Bolivian president has asked the population “endure and resist” the new coronavirus until the vaccines arrive, which in his opinion will be the solution to the pandemic.

That statement has raised controversy and has been criticized especially by the Bolivian opposition and the unions of doctors and health personnel in the face of the deaths that are registered daily and the desperation due to the saturation of hospitals and the lack of medicines.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error