Coronavirus

Argentina introduces new nine-day lockdown

Argentina introduces nine-day lockdown
Anti-lockdown demonstration in Buenos Aires. Photo: Mariano Gaspar/Shutterstock

After one of the world’s longest lockdowns in 2020, President Alberto Fernández of Argentina has decreed strict nine-day isolation measures in several regions, amid a worsening of the pandemic.

Only essential businesses will be allowed to open in a number of Argentinian regions, including capital Buenos Aires and its surrounding province, as well as the central administrative region of Córdoba.

Residents in these locked-down regions will only be allowed to make essential purchases between 6 am and 6 pm, and they must not travel far from their home.

In a televised address on Thursday evening, Mr. Fernández said the country is in the middle of “the worst moment since the pandemic began,” with roughly 3,000 new cases being reported each day.