Uruguay: more deaths in a single week than all of 2020

With a record 186 coronavirus deaths reported between March 29 and April 2, Uruguay exceeded the total number of 2020 deaths in the last week alone. Of the country’s 1,100 confirmed coronavirus fatalities, 80 percent occurred in 2021 

As The Brazilian Report has shown, Uruguay is facing the worst moment of the pandemic, owing to the increased spread of the Brazilian variant — detected in at least seven Uruguayan departments — and the loosening of health protocols, especially during the holiday season.

This Easter — which in secular Uruguay is known as Tourism Week — the government saw a drop in the isolation rate, contradicting official requests for restrictions and social distancing to curb infections. The Uruguayan Medical Union warned of a “serious health situation” in the coming days.

Uruguay became an example in how to combat the coronavirus last year, experiencing several days without a single new case, thanks largely to mass testing and tight border controls.

• #borders
• #latinAmerica
• #mercosur