08/02/2020 - 15:33
- Clarín.com
- Politics
For 15 days, throughout the country, social gatherings will not be allowed. It will be, to some extent, a return to phase 1 in a specific segment of the coronavirus quarantine in Argentina: family or group meetings , one of the openings that were allowed in several provinces and even in the interior.
President Alberto Fernández has the DNU ready so that, from this Monday, with the ninth extension, the flexibilization that authorized social gatherings of up to 10 people in various parts of the country will be suspended.
There is a reason and an essay . The reason is medical and is determined because, according to epidemiological analysis, a strong increase in infections was detected as a result of these social encounters.
In the follow-up that is carried out in the health system of each infected person, consultation is made about close contacts and activities to determine the possible focus of contagion . According to official sources, in recent weeks there has been an increase in cases that admit, despite the prohibition in the AMBA, that they participated in some type of social event : a family reunion, a meeting with friends or some activity of that nature .
It is part of the "traceability" that is done to determine how the virus circulates and prevent where there are possible sources of contagion or outbreaks. "In general, social gatherings last a few hours, they are in closed places, they are closer and they can relax care and distancing measures, " they explained to Clarín from the National Health team.
One more fact: the outbreaks that appeared in the interior of the country , such as one that arose per case in Catriló, La Pampa , usually have as a double component the presence of a traveler -in general from the AMBA- and a social gathering. That province in one week jumped from 5 to 146 cases and, like Jujuy, returned to phase 1 before the Casa Rosada order this measure.
The bet of the extended phase 3 that starts this Monday, after two weeks with an increase in cases and days with peaks of up to 6,400 and almost 150 deaths, is linked to reinforcing controls on social matters but not, in principle, affecting activities productive.
As Clarín said last week, there is a shared criterion in Nación, Provincia and CABA regarding that industrial and commercial activities have not generated severe infection problems.
Ginés González García, the Minister of Health, was one of those who advanced with that position that was, later, reinforced by the infectologists in the meeting they had with Fernández on Thursday.
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Watch the specialThere, the criteria that later explained the shared decision between Fernández, Axel Kicillof and Horacio Rodríguez Larreta to extend phase 3 in the AMBA without establishing closings of economic activities were consolidated . The City even decided on a few more openings.
"In commercial activity social control works : if you go to a store without a mask, they will not let you in or ask you to put it on," details an official source. There are also other characteristics: there is distancing and, in general, the period of permanence in a business is short.
This reduces the risk of contagion in commercial activity. In turn, they explain, companies often establish protection and care measures because "it is of no use for employees to become infected and have to close for 15 or 20 days."
In addition, a fundamental concept appears on the discussion about how trade affected the pandemic. "Those who believe that businesses do not sell because they had limitations are wrong: people only buy what is necessary and that is a product of the virus, not quarantine," a national minister told Clarín .
The gray area points to recreational and sports outings. There is a general view that outdoor activities reduce the risks of contagion.