The second wave of COVID-19 infections "is already a fact" in Argentina, so people should be extremely careful, Health Minister Carla Vizzotti warned on Tuesday.
The official explained at a press conference that a similar situation is taking place in neighboring countries such as Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, with an "accelerated" increase in the number of cases, in addition to an overload on the health system.
Vizzotti urged to "continue working with jurisdictions, experts and scientific evidence to generate recommendations and actions" and asked Argentines to "redouble efforts" against the disease.
New measures, which will try to avoid impacting productive and commercial activities, will be implemented after discussions between the central government and provincial authorities and the capital city of Buenos Aires, according to the minister.
She also highlighted the country's vaccination plan against COVID-19 launched on Dec. 29, with 90 percent of health personnel already receiving one dose of the vaccine, while 60 percent have received their second dose.
Moreover, 55.6 percent of people over 80 years old have received at least one dose under the inoculation scheme, while 40.7 percent of people between 70 and 79 years old have gotten their first dose.
As of Monday, the South American country had accumulated 2,407,159 COVID-19 cases and 56,471 deaths, according to the health ministry.
