Argentina's Covid-19 death toll hits 70,000

Argentina surpassed 70,000 deaths from Covid-19 over the weekend, as the second wave of the virus continued to register high numbers of infections.

The Health Ministry reported 400 fatalities on Saturday and a further 270 on Sunday (traditionally a day that produces lower numbers), bringing the death toll to 70,522. 

A total of 37,819 new infections were recorded over both days, with 3,307,285 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic in Argentina, a country of 45 million inhabitants.

Government officials, both regional and national, have expressed concern in recent weeks over the occupation in intensive care beds, which has been gradually increasing over the past 10 days.

According to official data, 5,538 people remain hospitalised in intensive care units nationwide, with bed occupancy in those wards at 69.3 percent across the country and 75.4 percent in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA).

Last week, the Health Ministry confirmed that specialists had detected the presence of new variants originally registered in India and South Africa for the first time. The so-called Manaus, Rio de Janeiro and the United Kingdom strains are already in circulation.

To date, Argentina has already received more than 11.4 million vaccines from different laboratories. Around 10 million people have already been vaccinated; 1.8 million have received both doses.

– TIMES/AFP