Coronavirus in Uruguay | The country will extend the border closure until February 1

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou (Photo: AP / Matilde Campodonico).

The president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, decreed the extension of border closures in the country until February 1. In this way, he extended the measure by 20 days, which entered into force on December 21. He also signaled that “vigilance against agglomerations” will be strengthened to stop the advance of the coronavirus.

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The head of state made the announcements on Wednesday evening at a press conference in the executive tower, just hours after daily COVID-19 infections set a new historic record.

At first, he confirmed the Extension of border closures for another 20 days, which was originally slated for completion on January 10. As a result of this determination, foreigners and Uruguayans will continue to be prohibited from entering the territory until February 1.

On the other hand, Lacalle Pou indicated that the government will strengthen its vigilance in the face of crowds to avoid overflows. In addition, he announced that the sporting events will take place “without an audience” and that those of a public nature will be resumed “with a minimum capacity, so as not to lose the summer season”.

“The rest of the measures that were taken on December 17 are continuing in full,” said the president, and urged private companies to maintain the telework modality – a mandatory measure for the public sector.

Finally, he ratified the government’s intention to do as many tests as possible, considering that not to do so would mean eliminating “the possibility of better solving the pandemic”. “Quite the opposite of reducing testing, we are increasing it,” he said.

The increase in coronavirus cases

The Uruguayan president’s announcement came just hours after the publication of a new report on coronavirus infections in the country. For the first time since the health emergency was declared on March 13, the territory was close to more than 1,000 people infected per day.

According to the daily report of the National Emergency System (Sinae), there was 946 positive cases in the 6543 analyzes carried out, which implies the highest figure both in daily cases and in percentage of positive tests (14.47%).

They were also confirmed this Wednesday four dead due to the disease, for which there have been 221 deaths since the start of the health crisis in Uruguay. During this time, 23,048 people are infected.

Regarding the distribution of cases in the territory, it was reported that the 19 departments (provinces) count positive. However, the most affected neighborhoods are Montevideo, Canelones and Rivera.