Mandatory quarantine period set to end next Sunday

President Alberto Fernández extended the mandatory quarantine period for all citizens in a televised press conference last Sunday, with few exceptions, though banks re-opened exclusively for retirees and social security beneficiaries yesterday.

The Peronist leader, who placed the country under nationwide lockdown in mid-march to tackle the spread of Covid-19, said in his speech that the shutdown would be extended until Monday, April 13, after the Easter holidays. No-one can circulate in vehicles without special permission and citizens can only leave their homes to buy food or medicine at nearby locations.

Fernández praised citizens for how they had adapted and “behaved as a society” during the shutdown, claiming that 90 percent of Argentines were fully complying with the measures he had put in place.

Fernández also confirmed that Argentina had been chosen by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of 10 countries in which the body will test a vaccine, a step he described as “recognition from the international scientific community” and testament to how the country had tackled the pandemic.

The Frente de Todos leader’s announcement came after meetings with an expert advisory panel and a videoconference with provincial governors and Buenos Aires City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larretta. Both the provincial leaders and medical experts backed an extension.

On Friday, banks re-opened for select purposes, but demand for cash in the pocket was so high that long queues formed outside the financial institutions. Officials said banks would remain open Saturday and Sunday in a bid to shorten queues, which some cautioned would only help the coronavirus to spread.