After an extraordinary meeting chaired by President Sebastian Piñera that lasted two hours this afternoon at La Moneda palace, the Minister of Health Jaime Mañalich reported that from Tuesday at 22:00 local time, other four municipalities will enter total quarantine for seven days in the Metropolitan Region.
These municipalities are the complete communes of Cerrillos, Quilicura, Recoleta and Santiago Centro, which in its northern area has been with this extreme measure for five weeks, but is now expanding to its entire territory, which comprises about one million inhabitants.
Likewise, the cities of Antofagasta and Mejillones, in the north of the country, will also enter a total quarantine for seven days.
During the morning, when providing the daily report on the health situation, the minister reported 1,228 Covid-19 cases, amounting to 19,663 afflicted, and another 13 deaths.
He also pointed out that of these new patients, 81 percent correspond to the Metropolitan Region including the deaths, and assured that «if the battle in Santiago is not won, the war against the Covid-19 pandemic will be lost.»
Given the worrisome reports, opposition lawmakers and mayors asked the government to apply a total quarantine in the capital, instead of the «dynamic and flexible» quarantines by areas, as the Ministry of Health has proposed so far.
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