Argentina reported a daily high of 470 new deaths from Covid-19 on Tuesday, the second straight day that a record number of fatalities has been recorded.
On Monday, the previous day, 429 deaths were registered by the authorities. In total, 13,952 fatalities have now been recorded since the first outbreak of the virus in Argentina.
Health Ministry officials also said that 12,027 confirmed cases had been recorded over the previous 24 hours, lifting the total number of infections to 652,163.
Of those who have been infected with the virus, 517,228 are classified as recovered, the Ministry's daily update revealed.
Since the beginning of the outbreak on these shores, almost 1.8 million tests have been carried out in Argentina, a country of around 44 million people.
President Alberto Fernández's government imposed lockdown restrictions on nearly all activities on March 20, but since then quarantine measures have been relaxed, mostly on a province-by-province basis. Schools and universities remain closed and large social gatherings, concerts and performances are still prohibited.
Buenos Aires Province remains the most affected region, followed by Buenos Aires City, and the provinces of Santa Fe Province, Córdoba and Mendoza.
The Health Ministry said that bed occupancy in intensive care units (ICUs) nationwide is at 60.4 percent, rising to 65.9 percent in the Buenos Aires metropolitan region (AMBA).
Despite officials continuing to witness high daily numbers of infections and fatalities, officials are discussing whether to relax lockdown measures further after October 11, when the current quarantine period ends. In recent weeks, healthcare professionals have called for tighter rules and for citizens to take greater individual responsibility, thought protests against the government and its lockdown restrictions have been taking place on a semi-regular basis.
– TIMES/
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