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Chilean authorities on Wednesday decreed a mandatory quarantine throughout Santiago after a 60% increase in new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours in the country, totaling 34,381 infected since March.
“The most severe measure that I must announce is a total quarantine in Greater Santiago”, where more than 80% of those are infected nationwide, said Health Minister Jaime Mañalich.
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The new measures respond to a record of 2,660 new coronavirus cases and 11 more deaths in the last 24 hours. The quarantine involves communes in the capital where they had lifted mandatory confinement in the past three weeks.
Until now, Chile has opted for a dynamic or selective quarantine strategy, instead of closing cities entirely. But the increase in infections, especially in Santiago, in the last 10 days led the authorities to decree for the first time the complete closure of the Chilean capital of almost seven million inhabitants.
The cities of Iquique and Alto Hospicio, in the north of the country, and those over the age of 75 throughout Chile, were also ordered to have a mandatory quarantine.
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Tightening restrictions means that People will not be able to leave their homes, and will only be able to buy food or medicine with a permit.
Contagions began to grow in Chile at the beginning of May, when the government of President Sebastián Piñera began to propose a “new normal” strategy and a “safe return” after celebrating having reached a “plateau” of infections, with a daily rate which for more than a week ranged between 400 and 500 cases on average.
Also, in the last days, the authorities announced that they have reached an average considered high for a country of almost 18 million inhabitants, with the performance of about 12,000 PCR (nasopharyngeal swab) tests daily.
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However, last week the tone of the health authorities changed and the talk of the “battle of Santiago” began. “The month of May is being very hard on our country and we have to take appropriate actions at the right time to stop this disease”, added Minister Mañalich, who ruled out a collapse in the health network.
He said that the case of coronavirus in the country remains low, with 346 deaths since March 3.
According to the authorities, the health network – which includes public and private services – had until this Wednesday 553 mechanical ventilators available, to which new units will be added in the coming days.
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AFP
