Buenos Aires City and Province account for 70% of Covid-19 deaths in Argentina

Buenos Aires City and Buenos Aires Province remain Argentina's hardest-hit regions from the coronavirus pandemic, accounting for 63 percent of all Covid-19 infections recorded to date and almost 70 percent of fatalities.

In the nation's capital, the death toll has risen to 82, with 99 recorded in Buenos Aires Province, the country\'s most-populous region. At the time of writing, 260 lives have been lost to the virus to date.

Likewise, of the 4,887 infections recorded so far, 1,753 correspond to Buenos Aires Province, with 1,347 falling within the City' boundaries.

In its morning report, the Health Ministry reported two new fatalities: a 53-year-old man from Buenos Aires Province and a 94-year-old woman from Buenos Aires City.

"Approximately 50 percent of the cases are distributed across Flores, Palermo, Belgrano, Balvanera, Recoleta, Almagro, Caballito, Villa Urquiza, Villa Crespo. As proposed in Buenos Aires, the search for positive spots and spatial associations should be carried out in order to develop actions to cut the chain,” a recent report from the Institute for Epidemiological Research (IIE) concluded.

Population density

Buenos Aires City and Province, areas with high population density, have been the worst hit by community circulation of the virus. Most analysts expect the nationwide lockdown – put in place by President Alberto Fernández on March 20 – to be extended for at least a few more weeks, though other provinces that have not recorded new cases of Covid-19 for at least 10 days may have their restrictions loosened.

Over the last few days, particularly in the capital, the number of infections in Greater Buenos Aires has risen – in particular the poorest areas of the capital that house vulnerable populations. Health officials said this week that as of Monday, at least 223 cases had been registered in the capital's shantytowns, or villas.

At least 133 of those have been recorded in Villa 31, which borders Retiro, with Villa 1-11-14 (also known as Barrio Padre Ricciardelli) recording 67 cases to date.

– TIMES/PERFIL