Argentina reports a new record of 42,032 new cases of COVID-19

Argentina reported this Wednesday a record 42,032 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of positives to 5’556,239, confirming the vertiginous increase in infections that the country is going through in its third wave of the pandemic.

The number of positives notified this Wednesday exceeds the previous historical mark of 41,080 cases that had been registered on May 27, when the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 had occurred in Argentina.

Meanwhile, according to the daily report of the Ministry of Health, deaths rose to 117,111 this Wednesday, after 26 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, well below the record of 792 daily deaths registered on June 22.

According to official data, there are 5.2 million people who were infected and who have already been discharged, while the number of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 who remain admitted to intensive care units was 977 this Wednesday , growing in recent weeks, but still well below the maximum peak of 7,969 of June 14.

The percentage of occupancy of beds in intensive care units for all types of pathologies is 34.9% nationwide and 36.3% if only Buenos Aires and its periphery are considered.

After months of favorable epidemiological situation, in October the Argentine government relaxed most of the sanitary restrictions in force until then, including the total opening of the borders.

However, the cases began to rise again since November and at a dizzying rate in recent weeks.

The Argentine Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, declared that the country “it’s beginning”To go through its third wave of COVID-19 infections, with a sharp increase in cases, but not in the number of people admitted to hospitals thanks to the advance in vaccination.

Vizzotti argued that the omicron variant has a “transmissibility“Very high but”less lethality”.

“We are seeing an exponential increase in the number of cases, especially in some jurisdictions with the circulation of the omicron variant, but at the moment we do not have a translation of this increase in the number of cases into an increase in intensive care and hospital admissions. mortality ”, assured the minister.

Vaccination advance

Meanwhile, Argentina, with about 45 million inhabitants, continues with its anti-COVID vaccination campaign that began in late 2020.

According to official data released this Wednesday, so far 75.6 million doses have been applied and 93.9 million have been distributed throughout the national territory.

A total of 38 million people received the first dose of the vaccine, while 32.5 million were already inoculated with the second.

Likewise, 2.4 million Argentines have received a third additional dose and another 2.5 million a booster dose, within the framework of the vaccination strategy that began in October to reinforce the immunity of various groups.

Vizzotti highlighted that, on Wednesday one year since the start of the vaccination campaign in Argentina, 83% of the population received at least one dose and 70% already received two doses.