What is the situation now?

[mike29187]

With regards to covid how are things right now in the City . From what I am reading and what is being reported things in Latin america seem not to have improved at all compared to Europe.

 

[¡Sencillamente yo!]

It's the very beginning of winter, things couldn't be worse. (It is summer in Europe / 180 degrees opposite)

 

[mike29187]

It's the very beginning of winter, things couldn't be worse. (It is summer in Europe / 180 degrees opposite)

So vaccines have done nothing?.When I left in 2019 things were already terrible with regards to the economy,it must be hellish right now.

 

[¡Sencillamente yo!]

Read this:

La Argentina registró otro récord de muertes en un día y superó las 90 mil víctimas fatales por coronavirus | TN

Se registraron 792. Además se reportaron 21.387 casos confirmados, y la cifra de positivos ya es de 4.298.782. Volvió a bajar levemente la ocupación de camas de terapia intensiva ocupadas con pacientes de Covid-19, que este martes es de 7326.

tn.com.ar

 

[¡Sencillamente yo!]

They are vaccinating, yet the dead keep piling up, in record numbers.

Kind of defies logic, huh?

 

[Ruta Otto]

They are vaccinating, yet the dead keep piling up, in record numbers.

Kind of defies logic, huh?

A little over 8% of Argentines are vaccinated. That is nothing. It is extremely logical that in a majority unvaccinated country where there is little assistance from the government, heavy reliance on mass transit, and covid deniers in abundance that the infection rates, and therefore the death rates, would skyrocket. Even in rich countries there are pockets of high infection rates due to the politicization of the vaccine. Even though vaccines are plentiful, many people are not taking them and still proclaiming covid a hoax. You can't fix stupidity, especially piled on with ignorance as a byproduct of poor education and populist demagoguery.

 

[mike29187]

A little over 8% of Argentines are vaccinated. That is nothing. It is extremely logical that in a majority unvaccinated country where there is little assistance from the government, heavy reliance on mass transit, and covid deniers in abundance that the infection rates, and therefore the death rates, would skyrocket. Even in rich countries there are pockets of high infection rates due to the politicization of the vaccine. Even though vaccines are plentiful, many people are not taking them and still proclaiming covid a hoax. You can't fix stupidity, especially piled on with ignorance as a byproduct of poor education and populist demagoguery.

So what are things like day to day in the City and the rest of the Country are places still mostly closed? Hospitality Industry must be dead at this point?.

 

[¡Sencillamente yo!]

A little over 8% of Argentines are vaccinated. That is nothing. It is extremely logical that in a majority unvaccinated country where there is little assistance from the government, heavy reliance on mass transit, and covid deniers in abundance that the infection rates, and therefore the death rates, would skyrocket. Even in rich countries there are pockets of high infection rates due to the politicization of the vaccine. Even though vaccines are plentiful, many people are not taking them and still proclaiming covid a hoax. You can't fix stupidity, especially piled on with ignorance as a byproduct of poor education and populist demagoguery.

WOW!

 

[Fiscal]

Bars, restaurants, stores, the mall all were open as of last week when I was there.

 

[antipodean]

With regards to covid how are things right now in the City . From what I am reading and what is being reported things in Latin america seem not to have improved at all compared to Europe.

It is a strange reality that could best be described as "fragile".

• Most things (that have not gone out of business) are open. Streets are full of people and cars. Restaurants fairly busy. Cultural activities like museums or theatre usually possible albeit with protocols as with recreational activities like gyms. There is a curfew now but only from midnight until 0600. You can go about your day to day life fairly normally. Heavier restrictions come and go so by the time you read this something may have changed.
• Economic depression is apparent - for me this is the most depressing visual reminder of the situation. The amount of impoverished children, families and old people living and begging on the streets is at a level I have not seen here before.
• Security is perhaps a little worse than usual, but surprisingly it is still not like 2002 (express kidnappings, neighbourhood barricades etc)
• The general mood on the street is pretty bad with confidence in the national government at an all time low after a lot of unnecessary failures, scandals and fiascos against a backdrop of electioneering - it is hard to see a better "tomorrow" and many younger Argentines with the means to do so are leaving in a similar way as the 2001/2 era.
• In terms of being able to travel abroad easily or without fear, not so much. It is possible but there are few flights and a constant paranoia that rules will change at the last moment and leave you stranded or struggling to get home. Domestic travel is possible however restrictions come and go.
• The health situation is like a silent tsunami - like cities in Brazil or Mexico, there is misleading sense of security at times since unlike scenes from Guyaquil last year, you're not going to see bodies left on door steps on the streets. As commented earlier over 90.000 dead and counting for a country of 45 million is a number. Yesterday broke another record in daily deaths.
• The amount of people who have had COVID is really high - it is hard not to have been touched directly or indirectly.
• The health system has held up more or less, but there were some short moments recently where it would have been difficult to get an ICU bed. At the moment it is back to around 70% occupation I think.

The road to recovery still looks long. At lot of things could still go either way. The vaccination program while finally moving (40% of the people in the city having at least one vaccine and 11% with both) has yet to have its achievements tested against the Delta variant or second doses being administered much later than originally contemplated by vaccine producers which could be tests of fire. The supply of vaccines is still rather shaky with uncertainty around when second doses will arrive etc or exactly when vaccines will be available to people - very much a week to week affair.

My overall impression is that Europe or the US etc are far "happier" and "calmer" places to be at the moment in general terms.