RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, affirmed this Saturday (18) that the conditions are in place to lift soon the state of emergency that has been in force in the country since March 2020 and that has allowed, among other things, decreeing quarantines, curfews, and border closures.
“We have had 18 months of the state of emergency because we have lived through 18 months of the most serious pandemic in the last hundred years. Fortunately, things are on the right track, and it is good to recognize this because it is to everyone’s credit,” said the president in statements to journalists.
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The state of emergency, which grants special powers to the government, ends September 30; Parliament must approve any extension or renewal.
Lifting the state of emergency, said Piñera, “does not mean raising our guard”: “We must continue to take care of ourselves because the pandemic will continue among us,” he added after attending a mass on the occasion of the Fiestas Patrias.
The pandemic, which has left 1.64 million people infected and 37,339 dead, has been under control in Chile since August. However, the authorities still maintain a curfew from midnight, and the borders are closed to tourists.
Health authorities reported that this Saturday, 610 infections and 21 deaths were recorded and that the national positivity rate – the number of positives of all PCRs performed – remains at around 1%.
“We have managed to significantly reduce the number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, and this is coupled with a strong recovery of our economy,” said the governor.
The sustained improvement occurs parallel with one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world, reaching more than 13 million people, mainly with the Chinese Sinovac and Cansino, as well as the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech immunizers.
With a population of 19 million, Chile has also administered nearly 2 million third doses to people over 55 and other vaccinated groups, such as the chronically ill.