By Eliana Raszewski
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s national government and authorities in capital Buenos Aires are clashing over tightened COVID-19 restrictions and the closure of schools in and around the city.
The mayor of Buenos Aires on Thursday slammed the national government over new measures that include a two-week closure of schools and restrictions on movement after 8pm in the populous metropolitan area that is a hot spot for new cases.
“Yesterday, the national government decided to break the mechanism of dialogue and consensus that we had for more than a year,” Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, head of the city government, told a news conference. “I want to be very clear: we were not consulted about any of the measures taken.”
Larreta, part of the political opposition, pledged to do all he could to keep schools open. He called for immediate talks with center-left Peronist President Alberto Fernandez and said his administration would take the matter to the country’s supreme court.
“We totally disagree with the decision of the national government to close schools… We know the damage that closed schools do,” he said.
“The boys and girls of Buenos Aires have to be in the classrooms on Monday. We have three or four days to do everything in our power to achieve that.”
Fernandez said on Wednesday that Argentina needed to “gain time” in the fight against COVID-19 after cases https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/argentina hit a record this week, with daily average infections one of the highest in the region per capita.
“The virus is attacking us and is far from giving in,” he said, as he announced measures that will see schools closed in Greater Buenos Aires from Monday, and the suspension of indoor sports, recreational, religious and cultural activities until April 30.
Argentina has recorded a total 2.6 million coronavirus infections, with 58,542 deaths, and is, like other countries in Latin America, being hit by a second wave of cases.
(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Rosalba O’Brien)
