Argentina breaks record of coronavirus cases with 130,000 new infections in one day

Argentina on Tuesday exceeded 130,000 new cases of coronavirus for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, in the context of a “third wave” marked by the emergence of the omicron variant.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, the South American country registered 134,439 new infections this Tuesday, bringing the total number of positives to 6,533,635, while deaths rose to 117,595, after 52 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

These figures mark an ascent with respect to the positives reported last Monday, when 88,352 cases were reported.

Likewise, the positivity index reported this Tuesday for the country as a whole was 66.6%, since 201,585 tests were carried out throughout the national territory, well below the percentage of 10% recommended by the World Health Organization ( WHO).

According to official figures, there are 5.6 million people who have been infected and have already been discharged, while the number of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 who remain admitted to intensive care units was this Tuesday 2,084, growing in recent weeks but still well below the maximum peak of 7,969 on June 14.

The percentage of occupancy of beds in intensive care units for all types of pathologies is 40% nationwide and 41.1% if only Buenos Aires and its periphery are considered.

After months of favorable epidemiological situation, last October the Argentine government relaxed most of the sanitary restrictions in force until then, including the total opening of the borders.

However, the cases began to rise again since November and at a dizzying rate in recent weeks, leading to a “third wave” of COVID-19 in the South American country.

For this reason, the Argentine government imposed the use of the health pass from January 1, which will require proof of complete vaccination schedules to be able to attend activities considered to be of “epidemiological risk”, such as mass events outdoors or in closed spaces.

Meanwhile, Argentina, with some 45 million inhabitants, continues with its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus that began at the end of 2020.

According to official data released this Tuesday, so far 80.1 million doses have been applied and 98.6 million have been distributed throughout the national territory.

A total of 38.7 million people received the first dose of the vaccine, while 33.5 million were already inoculated with the second.

Likewise, 2.8 million Argentines have received a third additional dose and another 5 million received a booster dose, within the framework of the vaccination strategy that began in October to reinforce the immunity of various groups.