Paraguay has extended until May 3, inclusive, "strict" containment measures to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, President Mario Abdo Benitez announced on Friday.
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"I ask you to wait a little longer , " said the head of state at a press conference. Mandatory containment measures were introduced on March 10. The South American country will then enter a phase of “intelligent containment which will allow the reactivation of certain productive sectors” , he added. The Paraguayan economy, with an annual GDP of just over 40 billion dollars, has lost two billion dollars per month, admitted the head of state.
The Minister of Health, Julio Mazzoleni, said that, for the resumption of work, companies will have to respect several sanitary measures such as the use of masks, temperature control, rotation of teams.
Paraguay, which has a population of 7 million, has registered 220 positive cases of Covid-19, including nine deaths, since the identification of the first case on March 7.