Argentina will extend until April 27 the lockdown it imposed last month to control the spread of the coronavirus, President Alberto Fernandez said in a televised address on Friday, adding that the measure would be applied only in major cities.
The United Nations has warned of an impending food shortage due to the coronavirus pandemic as major exporters such as Argentina find it increasingly difficult to sell their produce.
Market reports suggest that Argentine beef shipments to the European Union have reduced to almost zero amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Sales to China, the main buyer, have dropped below 2019 levels.
An Argentine federal judge lifted precautionary measures impeding the access and docking at Mar del Plata port of a cruise vessel with 37 crewmembers which were originally believed to include some positive cases of COVID-19.
Argentina is postponing payments on up to US$ 10 billion debt (interests and capital) that was issued under local law until the end of the year, the government said in a decree late on Sunday, in a bid to relieve pressure over looming foreign currency payments.
Argentines left their homes in droves as banks reopen their branches to give out government assistance. Thousands of pensioners and citizens who receive government welfare lined up outside banks to get their monthly payments. Branches, which have been closed since a nationwide lockdown began March 20, reopened Friday so that citizens who can't receive the payments on debit could receive the cash.
Moody's downgraded Argentina’s credit rating on Friday, cutting it to Ca from Caa2 in a move that reflects the firm’s expectation that private creditors will incur losses as a result of the government’s efforts to restructure its sovereign debt.
The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US$ 35 million emergency loan to support the Argentine government efforts to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health system through the procurement of medical supplies and equipment. This financing forms part of a World Bank fast track package of up to US$ 14 billion to help countries cope with the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, April first, the Bishop of Río Gallegos, Bishop Jorge García Cuerva, presided over a Eucharistic celebration in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated on what would later be Argentine soil.
Argentina will continue talks this week and next with creditors over restructuring its US$ 83 billion in foreign debt, Economy Minister Martin Guzman said after the country missed the March 31 deadline it had set previously.