Argentina: Fernandez extends curfew, school closures as Covid-19 cases rise

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Argentine President Alberto Fernández on Friday announced a three-week extension of restrictions to tackle the Covid-19 second wave, warning the nation that the “next few weeks may be very hard.”

Fernández confirmed that the existing 8pm-6am nighttime curfew in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (AMBA) - home to one in three Argentines - and other at-risk regions would remain in place.

The most controversial has been the cancellation of in-person classes at Buenos Aires metro-area schools.

Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta - whose right-wing JxC coalition staunchly opposes Fernández - has challenged the in-person schooling suspension. The city lost in federal court on April 20th and the case has gone to the Supreme Court.

Over 5,300 patients with Covid-19 are hospitalized in intensive care units across the country, with bed occupancy today at 69.1% nationwide and 77.9% in the AMBA region.

At: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/fernandez-extends-curfew-school-closures-as-covid-19-cases-rise.phtml

Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta visits a classroom on the first day of the current school year, February 17th.

Since then, new Covid-19 cases have jumped from around 6,000 to 22,420 today - with average daily deaths this week tripling to 384.

President Fernández's order suspending in-person schooling in the metro area has been challenged in court by the mayor.