Argentine President Fernández pays tribute to the almost 100,000 people who died of covid-19 in the country

Monday, June 28th 2021 - 09:01 UTC

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“The virus is invisible but it is aggressive, it destroys and inflicts a lot of pain,” said Fernández

Argentine President Alberto Fernández Sunday paid tribute to the almost 100,000 people who died of covid-19 in the country, during a ceremony at the Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK), formerly the National Mail's headquarters in Buenos Aires.

”This is a ceremony of recollection and reflection in tribute to the people who died from covid-19, from this pandemic that plagues humanity. The millions of people who have died so far have shocked the whole world,” Fernández said.

Fernández was flanked by First Lady Fabiola Yáñez and most of the governors of the 23 Argentine provinces plus the Mayor of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) Horacio Rodríguez Larreta were present. A total 24 candles were lit and a minute's silence observed.

“The virus is invisible but it is aggressive, it destroys and inflicts a lot of pain,” said the president in a broadcast ceremony, after which music was played ranging from lyric, to tango, from folklore to rock.

”Our tribute after having gone through this time of pain, will be to build a united and supportive Argentina, which always takes care of the health of its inhabitants. (...) Caring, recovering, rebuilding, so we can look to the future with memory and hope,” Fernandez said.

Since the start of the pandemic, in March 2020, Argentina has registered almost 4.4 million infections and 92,317 deaths from covid, according to official data.

In recent weeks, Argentina has accelerated the vaccination campaign and 19.7 million (44%) of its 45 million inhabitants have received at least one dose of vaccine, while 3.9 million people have already received the two doses.

Argentina's Health Ministry registered the first death from coronavirus in Argentina on March 7, 2020. Since then and up until Saturday, another 92,316 people have died from the disease. This Sunday is the Government's first tribute to those killed by the pandemic, which are not usually included in official speeches.