Avoid booster vaccines, asks WHO rich countries 0:47
(CNN Spanish) -
In El Salvador, concentrations for concerts, rallies, sporting events or festivities are prohibited for the next 90 days due to the increase in covid-19 cases registered in recent weeks, according to reports from the Ministry of health.
"What we seek is to limit this transmission from person to person, especially in the framework of the possible existence and international circulation of variants that may have the ease of contagion," said Francisco Alabí, Minister of Health of El Salvador.
At the beginning of June, according to official figures, El Salvador registered between 125 and 150 new cases of covid-19 per day.
A month later, authorities reported 241 new cases on July 10 alone.
ANALYSIS |
Factors that weaken democracy in various Latin American countries
President Nayib Bukele warned mayors that if they organize or authorize mass events to take place in their municipalities, they will be fined and brought to justice.
"Mayors who hold festivities, carnivals, rallies or mass events in the next three months will be punished with 100 minimum wages and criminally prosecuted for the crime of disobedience of individuals," the president wrote in a tweet.
The decree containing the "Special and Transitory Provisions for Suspension of Public or Private Concentrations and Events" was approved this Tuesday with the votes of 78 of the 84 deputies in plenary session.
advertising
What does the Constitution of El Salvador say about concentrations?
The opposition deputy of the Nationalist Republican Alliance party, René Portillo Cuadra, warned during the plenary session that, because the decree limits the right to free assembly, it should be reduced to 60 days.
He argued that otherwise "it would exceed what the Constitution proposes."
Portillo Cuadra refers to article 7 of the Constitution, which establishes the freedom to associate freely and to assemble peacefully.
On the other hand, article 30 establishes that the suspension of constitutional guarantees will not exceed 30 days.
It also establishes that it can be extended for the same period.
If the measures continue, a new decree must be approved.
Covax Signs Deal for 550 Million Chinese Covid-19 Vaccines Amid Doubts Over Efficacy
"We should, instead of being in technical lawyers, be seeing this as a great opportunity to consolidate ourselves as one of the countries that is achieving victory in the face of the pandemic," Christian Guevara, a deputy for the ruling New Ideas party, responded immediately.
El Salvador registers 81,644 cases of covid-19 and 2,457 people died from causes associated with the virus.
In a country with about 6,500,000 inhabitants, there are already 1,272,637 people who have received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,011,356 with one dose.
This information is provided by the local authorities, who also announced that this Monday vaccination was enabled for those over 18 years of age.