The main cities of Bolivia decide to maintain the strict quarantine

The main cities of Bolivia announced this Thursday their decision to maintain the strict quarantine against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that has been in force in the country since the end of March, given the possibility opened by the interim government to make it more flexible by zones or regions from the next May 11.

The municipal authorities of the cities of La Paz and El Alto, which together exceed one and a half million inhabitants, resolved to maintain the strict quarantine, after a meeting with representatives of various sectors and the national government.

The mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla, told the media that although La Paz is not experiencing the situation of other departments that have an overflow of cases, it is necessary "to take care of people and health", so it was defined to maintain the quarantine in both cities "as high risk municipalities".

The interim government ordered the extension of the quarantine until May 31, but with the possibility that from day 11 it will be applied flexibly and differently according to the progress of the disease in the municipalities and regions, establishing the categories high, medium and moderate risk.

"It would be very risky for the municipality of La Paz or El Alto to change their status to medium at a time when contagions can skyrocket and it could be very dangerous for many of the population," said Revilla.

The mayor insisted that no measure will be relaxed until he has a new evaluation next week regarding the preparation of health systems in both municipalities, which are also awaiting the arrival of 500,000 tests to detect the disease.

The governor of the department of La Paz, Félix Patzi, met separately with other sectors and determined to make the quarantine in this region more flexible, although giving the La Paz municipalities the possibility of maintaining the restrictions applied until now.

The authorities of the central department of Cochabamba resolved to maintain strict quarantine in the so-called "metropolitan axis", which includes the regional capital and six other municipalities, at a latent risk of spreading the disease.

The southern region of Tarija also decided to extend the rigid quarantine at least until it has a departmental laboratory to carry out the corresponding tests, as does the Andean city of Potosí, which has a similar order and foresees a rebound in cases towards the end of the month.

Authorities in the eastern region of Santa Cruz, the largest in the country and which concentrates the majority of COVID-19 cases, will meet this Friday to define an eventual relaxation of the quarantine, announced its governor, Rubén Costas.

With nearly eleven million inhabitants, Bolivia registers 91 deaths, 1,886 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 198 people recovered, according to official data.

The closure of borders and airspace, with some exceptions, and the prohibition of massive events are some measures that will remain in force throughout the country until the end of the month.