MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan government extends mobility reduction for yet another week

Things can get worse, Doctor Radi warned.

The Government of Uruguay Thursday decided to extend the current measures regarding restrictions to the circulation of people for yet another week in a move to curb the unstoppable number of covid-19 cases.

These restrictions have been in place since March 23 and have been extended every week or two, depending on the health situation.

With 36,121 active cases of covid-19, the government decided to extend for yet another week the measures which were due to expire next Sunday, May 30.

The restrictions include the suspension of all public shows, social gatherings regardless of whether they are public or private, including food courts at shopping malls as well as the closure of public offices both national and departmental (provincial) where clerks would have to work online from their homes. Casinos too are banned from opening.

Since the beginning of the measures, gyms, sports clubs and duty-free shops have been allowed to reopen their doors, albeit under strict health protocols.

Doctor Rafael Radi, the chief coordinator of the President's Honorary Scientific Advisory Group (GACH), has been quoted by the media as saying that without further measures things can get much worse.

Meanwhile, GACH coordinator Dr Henry Cohen has been awarded France's “Senate Medal” for his contribution to relations between the two countries. The distinction was received by the Uruguayan ambassador in Paris.

In a ceremony held in Paris, French Senate Speaker Gérard Larcher highlighted the work of Dr Cohen in the formation of the Honorary Scientific Advisory Group (GACH) in the fight against the pandemic, his distinguished international medical career and his links with France.

Every year, on the occasion of the Latin America and the Caribbean Week (SALC), organized by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the French Senate awards such a distinction to personalities all over Latin America. In 2021, it chose to focus on those linked to work on creative resources to overcome the covid-19 crisis.

Uruguay's vaccination campaign, one of the strongest in the region, has yielded different results based on the type of immunizer administered to each citizen. A study by the General Health Directorate of the Ministry of Public Health released Thursday showed that the reduction in covid-19 cases, 14 days after the last dose, is 57% for those who received the Coronavac vaccine and 75% for those who took the Pfizer product.

The reduction in ICU hospitalizations 14 days after the last dose was 95% for Coronavac and 99% for Pfizer.

And the reduction in mortality 14 days after the last dose was 97% for Coronavac and 80% for Pfizer.

These figures are all of a preliminary nature and further studies are being conducted in this regard, the Health Ministry said.