MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Government decrees five days of mourning for victims of covid-19

Fernández mentioned ”an immense pain ... through the whole of society”

The Argentine government of President Alberto Fernández Thursday decreed five days of mourning in tribute to the over 100,000 deadly victims of covid 19, a figure which reached six digits Wednesday.

According to Thursday's data, Argentina ranked eighth in the world in total cases, eleventh for total deaths and 13th in fatalities per million inhabitants.

“An immense pain runs through the whole of society for each and every one of the people who were fatal victims of the pandemic,” goes the presidential decree.

Around 4.7 million cases of covid-19 have been detected since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, in a country with a population of 45 million.

“Each of these people had a name, a life, relatives, friends, and dear ones,” adds the decree in which Fernández urges Argentines to become aware “of the need to attend to personal and collective care.”

During the days of mourning, the flag will remain hoisted at half mast in public buildings.

Fernández also called “to advance rapidly with the largest vaccination campaign in the history of the country.” More than 20.6 million people have received at least the first dose of a vaccine against covid-19 by Wednesday, representing 60.85% of the population over 18 years of age and 45% of the total population. Of those vaccinated, 5.1 million have the second dose applied (11%), according to the Public Vaccination Monitor.

Decree 459/2021 was signed by Fernández and by Cabinet Chief Santiago Cafiero. “National Mourning is declared throughout the territory of the Argentine Republic for a term of five days, as a result of the death of more than 100,000 people, inhabitants of our country, victims of Covid-19,” says the norm published Thursday in the Official Gazette.

In article 2, the decree extends “the deepest condolences of the national Government” to the victims' families.

The decree also underscores that Argentine society ”must and wishes to remember and pay tribute to those who have left in this painful time,“ and that ”the best we can do as a society is that so much sorrow and grief become strength and impulse” to advance with vaccination.