Argentina surpasses 3.53 million cases and 74,000 Covid-19 deaths (May 23)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina reported this Sunday, May 23, 24,801 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of positives to 3,539,484, while deaths rose to 74,063 after 375 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Argentina is going through a second wave of covid-19, which has registered a daily record of positives last Wednesday, with 39,652 infections, and a daily maximum of deaths last Tuesday, with 745 deaths.

In the province of Buenos Aires, 6,885 cases were reported this Sunday, while in the capital city of Argentina, 1,790 positives were registered, and in the province of Corrientes (northeast), 3,691 infections were reported.

According to the official report, 3,106,949 patients have already been discharged, while 6,214 people with a confirmed diagnosis of covid-19 remain in intensive care units.

The occupancy rate of intensive care beds for all types of pathologies is 73.5% at the national level, but 76.6% if only Buenos Aires and its populous periphery are considered.

So far, 13.19 million tests have been carried out in Argentina to detect the virus, of which 82,107 were performed this Sunday.

Since the end of last March, Argentina has been going through a dizzying increase in the number of cases of Covid-19, with an increasing level of occupation of beds in intensive care units.

The Fernández administration had tightened sanitary measures on April 9, particularly in Buenos Aires and its periphery. Still, cases continued to rise and experienced a sharp increase in the interior of the country. The country is now going through the worst moment since the pandemic began due to the level of contagions and the strain on the health system.

To reduce the contagion curve, from this Saturday and Sunday 30 and during the weekend of June 5 and 6, strong restrictions on circulation and economic and social activity have been imposed in the areas of the country at “high risk” and health “alarm”.

During the confinement, the country expects to receive more doses of vaccines already agreed with suppliers. This Sunday, 204,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines purchased through the United Nations Covax mechanism arrived in the country. And early this morning, an Aerolineas Argentinas plane left for Moscow in search of more doses of Sputnik V.

With a population of some 45 million inhabitants, Argentina began its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus at the end of last December. Official data released on Sunday show that 11,067,550 doses have been applied so far. A total of 8,701,971 people received the first dose of the vaccine, while 2,365,579 people have already been inoculated with the second dose.