THE WEEK IN CORONAVIRUS
There were 103,359 deaths and 4,827,973 confirmed cases of coronavirus by press time yesterday as against 101,158 deaths and 4,737,213 cases the previous Friday. On Monday City Hall announced a complete return to classroom education after the winter holidays while Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof upped the intake for bars and restaurants from 30 to 50 percent of capacity but requiring all those exceeding the previous cap to exhibit a vaccination passport. Friends’ Day on Tuesday was marked without any immediate reversal of the downward trend of Covid-19 data but health workers began to act up over delayed pay increases. On Wednesday the government relaxed restrictions nationwide, permitting social meetings up to 50 people, indoor seating up to 50 percent of capacity in cultural, social, recreational and religious premises and opening hours up to midnight in bars and restaurants. A letter by presidential advisor Cecilia Nicolini to Russian authorities complaining of Sputnik V vaccine delays created controversy when divulged in midweek by reinforcing doubts about the government’s vaccination policies. Yesterday the Health Ministry announced that it could start vaccinating those aged between 12 and 17 in risk groups thanks to the European Union giving the green light to Moderna vaccine, of which Argentina received 3.5 million doses last weekend (of which around a half will be needed for this group).