The cases of Covid-19 in Argentina have increased sharply in recent weeks, with more than 5,000 new cases a day recently, an average of four to five times more than a month ago, according to a report drawn up on Monday, December 20 by the Ministry of Health. This gradual but continuous increase comes against the backdrop of the presence of the new Omicron variant, the first case of which was detected in Argentina on December 6, on a traveler who returned from South Africa.
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The Ministry of Health did not release recent figures on the prevalence of Omicron cases nationwide, but in mid-December mentioned 4 other confirmed cases of the new variant, in the province of Cordoba (center). In the past 24 hours, 5,337 new cases of Covid-19 have been identified – against 1,095 exactly one month ago, on November 20 – and 27 deaths linked to the virus (14 a month ago). The pressure on the hospital system remains relative, however, with an intensive care unit occupancy rate of 35%.
But in this context of recovery, and with the approach of the austral summer holidays, a health pass will come into force on January 1 for those over 13 years old. A complete vaccination schedule will be required to participate in any mass gathering, including outdoors, or cultural, sporting, religious activities in an enclosed space. This pass has already been introduced by several provinces, and comes into force on Tuesday in that of Buenos Aires, which has 18 million inhabitants, more than a third of the country. In the province, the cases of Covid “Increased by 33% in one week”, according to its governor Axel Kicillof.
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Argentina has recorded since the start of the pandemic 5.39 million cases of coronavirus and 117,000 deaths. 70% of the country’s population, 45 million, have a full vaccination schedule and 82% have received at least one dose.