Police and protesters clashed in Santiago on Monday amid a city-wide lockdown meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus as local officials warned that food shortages had hit one of the Chilean capital's poorest neighborhoods.
Two of Chile´s top Cabinet ministers said on Sunday they would quarantine after coming in close contact with Chilean lawmakers who tested positive for the coronavirus during negotiations in Congress.
Thousands of fresh graves are being dug in Santiago's main cemetery amid a spike in Chile's COVID-19 cases, authorities said on Thursday. Chile's infection rate soared this week, prompting the government to declare a mandatory lockdown of Santiago's seven million people from Friday.
As the planet battles the seemingly inexorable spread of the coronavirus, Antarctica remains the only Covid-19-free continent - thanks in the main to strict security and not a little luck. The natural isolation of the frozen and desolate expanse has been taken to new extremes since the WHO declared a pandemic on March 11.
Chile ordered a mandatory total quarantine for the capital Santiago's seven million people on Wednesday, after authorities reported a 60% spike in coronavirus infections in 24 hours, dealing a stunning blow to hopes the economy would soon reopen.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board met on Wednesday in an informal session to discuss a request from the Chilean authorities for a two-year arrangement under the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) with the IMF in an amount equivalent to SDR 17.443 billion (about US$23.8 billion or 1,000 percent of quota).
Chile is set to face the worst of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the coming weeks, President Sebastian Piñera said on Tuesday, as a sharp spike in cases and the southern hemisphere winter push its healthcare system to the limit.
The global copper market is headed for a surplus of between 200,000-300,000 tons in 2020, the head of the miner Antofagasta told Chilean media, with operation halts at some mines offsetting depressed demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chile’s economic activity dropped 3.5% in March from a year earlier, the central bank said. The bank’s IMACEC economic activity index declined 5.7% compared with the previous month, as the country went into an economic and social shutdown after the arrival in Chile of the new coronavirus.
Chile ordered strict new quarantine measures on three districts in the capital Santiago after a sudden spike in coronavirus cases on Sunday. The health ministry reported a surge of 1,228 new infections, bringing the total to nearly 20,000 nationwide and dealing a blow to hopes it was over the worst of the crisis.