Uruguay suspended compulsory school attendance due to increase in COVID-19 cases

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou on Tuesday announced the suspension of the requirement to attend schools across the country due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.

Measurement It will not be optional for secondary education in the municipality of Rivera, bordering Brazil and the most affected in the country., while other jurisdictions may make similar decisions if suggested by local health authorities and after consultation with national authorities. It will last until the “tourism week”, which in the South American country takes place during Holy Week (this year it is between March 28 and April 4).

“We want to change the relationship between young people and the education system as little as possible. We don’t want the link to be lost, which got much worse last yearThe president said at a press conference from the executive tower.

The announcement aims to mitigate the advance of COVID-19 in Uruguay, which until Tuesday had recorded five consecutive days with more than 1,000 daily cases. Today’s report shows 916 new positives and eight deaths, bringing the totals to 73,770 and 725, respectively.. Currently, 10,461 suffer from the disease and 135 of them are in intensive care units.

Asked about the recent increase in cases, the president said “maybe” there has been “relaxation” and “there is no measure that resists a person’s lack of care.” “It is obvious that there must be a match between the situation of the country, the measures of the government and the individual behavior of the population.», He expressed.

On the other hand, Lacalle Pou has confirmed the arrival of more than 1.5 million doses of the inoculant developed by the Chinese laboratory Sinovac, and expected that Wednesday the country will receive 51,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNtech. By adding all the vaccines, added to the nearly 200,000 that will be purchased by the WHO COVAX mechanism, the country will have doses “sufficient for the vaccination required in our population,” the president said.

Uruguay has applied just over six doses per 100 inhabitants as of Tuesday, according to statistics compiled by the specialized site Our world in data. The president indicated that the vaccination system has “unused capacity” and therefore during tourism week anyone between the ages of 18 and 70 who wish can be vaccinated. He will be among them. “I want you all at the vaccination center. I’m also coming in, ”he assured. “We are short of weapons and we cannot miss him”.

In the country, the vaccination phase of educators, police officers, firefighters, soldiers and active INAU workers, front-line customs officers of control in airports, ports and dry borders, people suffering from chronic dialysis and on the transplant waiting list, the general population 55 to 59 years old and front-line health workers.

On March 22, the vaccine developed by Pfizer will begin to be applied to people over the age of 80.

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