Sebastian Clemente
07/31/2020 - 14:31
- Clarín.com
- Cities
The announcements by President Alberto Fernández, the Head of Government, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, and the Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, confirmed what was anticipated since Wednesday. As in the rest of the country, the quarantine will continue as before until at least August 16. For this reason, stage 2 that the Buenos Aires Government had planned for now is in Stand By.
It is part of the 6 phases that the Buenos Aires Government presented three weeks ago as part of the plan to launch activities that should have been closed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The number of infections per day, which remains high, especially in the Province of Buenos Aires , slowed the initial idea of moving forward with more store openings, individual sports activities and even the empowerment so that restaurants and bars could operate with tables on the sidewalks.
The only thing that until now had a date was the opening of shops on high-traffic avenues: Monday, August 3 . But they won't open either.
With the opening of these shops, the Capital would have 93 percent of the open stores . Only the surroundings of the transfer centers of Retiro, Constitución and Once, and Avellaneda Avenue, in Flores would remain. The initial objective was that on Monday, August 3, the idea be concretized to give more air to a sector such as commerce, which is drowned , and in which, according to the estimates of the Buenos Aires Trade Federation (Fecoba), they will remain Along the way, some 20,000 merchants will not be able to reopen.
"The high level at which cases are stabilized indicates that we have to be very cautious in the coming weeks. The virus continues to circulate," said the head of government, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, when it was his turn to speak in Olivos. And he added: "It was not easy to achieve what we achieved together. We have to consolidate this first stage. Let's do it together so we don't have to go backwards."
The president, as Alberto Fernández had done before and then Kicillof did, thanked the effort made so far and stressed the responsibility for what is to come: "We know that as the days go by, the anguish and uncertainty become more intense And we have all been making a very great effort to face this pandemic, "he affirmed, and then emphasized:" As a society we have to share the responsibility to take care of ourselves and to take care of the person next to us . Individual responsibility is fundamental today. do or fail to do can have a huge impact on others. "
In stage 2, which for now must wait, at least until August 16, there is also the idea of incorporating the permit for individual sports , such as tennis or golf. Apparently, after the announcements this afternoon it will be clear that they will also be on standby . They are activities that are not considered essential, although they generate employment and have to do with recreation and well-being, an aspect that the Buenos Aires Cabinet considers important and sought to privilege with recreational walks and physical activity outdoors.
The rest of the thought includes the administrative work of the personnel of the museums of the City, the opening of the libraries, but without permanence, and functions of scenic arts through streaming. These are activities that do not generate too much movement and that is why it was thought that they could be reopened.
The opening of the Buenos Aires racetrack so that teams from the different categories can do track tests is another of the activities that would take time. For this, the corresponding protocol has already been prepared.
Lastly, the authorization will not be given so that the restaurants can attend with tables on the sidewalks, without waiters and with cutlery and disposable dishes.
"This is a disease of cities, not of countries, and less here, which is a vast and heterogeneous territory. You have to look city by city and see what is happening in each urban conglomerate," the health minister had explained in the morning. from Buenos Aires, Fernán Quirós, added: "The City of Buenos Aires, because it is where the pandemic started the fastest, is the one with the most mature and evolved epidemic curve."
SC