Uruguay extends limitation of the right of assembly due to Covid-19

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – From Friday, February 19th, and for 30 days, Uruguay extends the restriction on the right of assembly to curb the rise in Covid-19 cases in the country, despite the fact that in recent weeks the increase in the number of infections has slowed down.

The decree signed by president Luis Lacalle Pou and his ministers on Thursday, which extends the term of the law (60 days) passed in Parliament on December 19th and enacted two days later, can be found on the Uruguayan presidency’s website.

“The legal restriction, for reasons of public health, of the right of assembly enshrined in Article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic and the suspension of gatherings for the purpose of protecting collective health, established by Article 1 of Law No. 19.932, dated December 21st, 2020, shall be extended from February 19th, 2021 for a period of thirty days,” reads the text.

The regulation passed in Parliament, which provided for the potential one-month extension and therefore does not require a new legislative procedure, limits the right of assembly, enshrined in article 38 of the Constitution, whenever “gatherings of people pose a clear health risk.”

The executive’s new regulation established in its provisions that “although the figures projected by scientific experts and which prompted the adoption of the referred restrictive measures have not been reached, the country has not yet been able to reduce or maintain the positivity rate.”

Minister of the Interior Jorge Larrañaga spoke out in recent days supporting this extension, stating that the work of the police in breaking up crowds and night-time gatherings, particularly in holiday resorts, had contributed to controlling the pandemic.

However, International Women’s Day on March 8th is approaching, when the traditional massive march is expected to take place.

In December, the Executive defined crowding as “the concentration, permanence or circulation of people in public or private spaces for public use in which the social distancing measures are disrespected, as well as the use of the appropriate personal protection elements,” but did not limit the number of people considered as such.

After almost a year in a health emergency, Uruguay is experiencing its “first wave.” Since March 13th, 2020, when the first four Covid-19 cases were detected, the country has registered 50,752 cases, of which 5,218 are still in treatment and 71 in intensive care, but only 558 deaths.

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