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.
Brazilian Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said on Monday he will continue in his post after overcoming a disagreement with President Jair Bolsonaro over the need for social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus.
China demanded an explanation from Brazil on Monday after the conservative government’s education minister linked the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to the Asian country’s “plan for world domination,” in a tweet imitating a Chinese accent.
Eighty-one people on the Greg Mortimer cruise ship, which has been stranded off the coast of Uruguay for almost two weeks and has over 90 Australians on board, have tested positive for coronavirus.
Most Brazilians do not favor President Jair Bolsonaro resigning despite mounting criticism of his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a poll published by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo on Sunday.
Brazil’s Health Ministry said on Sunday the country’s death toll from COVID-19 has climbed to 486 as 11,130 people tested positive to the coronavirus disease. In the past 24 hours, 54 patients died, up 12.5% compared with the day before, and 852 new infections were detected, placing the mortality rate at 4.4%, said the authorities.
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 authorities in Ecuador have collected at least 150 bodies of people who died due to the coronavirus from the streets and homes of Guayaquil, the main port city in the country. The latest data reveals that there have been at least 3,100 have tested positive for COVID-19.
Brazilians feeling frustrated with president Jair Bolsonaro are turning to another voice for guidance and reassurance. Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta has emerged from relative obscurity with technocratic daily briefings presenting the latest science, stressing the need for social distancing measures and earning praise from across the political spectrum.
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.
"On April 2nd we claim sovereignty over our Malvinas Islands" was the message twitted by Argentine president Alberto Fernandez on the Malvinas War Veteran and Fallen Day, outstanding date in the official calendar of the country which recalls that 38 years ago, Argentine forces invaded the Falklands, triggering a conflict that would end 74 days later.
