LA PAZ: Bolivia will enter a new phase of “post-confinement” from Oct. 1, with more people and vehicles allowed to circulate in public and more commercial activities permitted, Yerko Nunez, Minister of the Presidency, said on Tuesday.
The new phase, which seeks to continue to reactivate the economy in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, will extend permissions for the circulation of people and vehicles, and will include the resumption of commercial, sports, cultural, and religious activities while following the biosecurity measures established by the Ministry of Health.
According to Virgilio Prieto, head of epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, the new extension of permissions will be defined by local governments depending on the local level of contagion risk.
From March to May 31, Bolivia enacted a rigid quarantine with almost total paralysis of activities. In June, the country entered a more flexible quarantine which ended on Aug. 31, then the country entered the first phase of “post-confinement.”
According to the Ministry of Health, as of Monday night, Bolivia had reported a total of 134,223 cases of COVID-19 with 7,900 deaths, and the fatality rate stood at 5.9 percent.
Despite a decline in cases, the ministry is predicting a new outbreak of the virus in November or December, and officials are urging citizens to continue following biosecurity measures.–Agencies
