translated from Spanish: Guatemala returns to mandatory confinement due to Covid-19

Guatemala City.- About 90 thousand inhabitants of the indigenous community of San Martín Jilotepeque, located in western Guatemala, were placed in mandatory confinement by orders of the federal government in the face of the uptick in Covid-19 cases in the Central American country.” The decision was made to make a total cordon sanitaire where mobility is restricted,” Bartolomé Chocoj, mayor of the Maya-Kaqchikel municipality, about 30 km west of Guatemala City, told AFP.Chocoj explained that it was decided to impose the precautionary measure after learning of Covid-19 infections not reported to the Ministry of Health; which has recorded about one thousand 190 suspected cases, 98 people in quarantine and 14 deaths related to this disease. Read more: There are 2,196 children under the age of 10 infected with Covid-19 in GuanajuatoTher are cases that were never recorded, that were never referred to a doctor (…). They were latent risks or they are cases that walked the street and that can represent the contagion of other people,” he added. The municipality will be in confinement until Sunday. The police and military who will be in charge of the surveillance will only allow the entry of people and special vehicles, and those in charge of delivering food to homes.As part of the measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, businesses will be closed, the municipal market where dozens of vendors offer their products. Unsurprisingly, this decision generated discontent among traders, according to testimony compiled by AFP. You have payments to make, like rent, you have children to support. If we’re not going to die of covid, we’re going to starve,” lamented Elena Xajil, 36, a vegetable trader. “For us this is a great loss because of this we live, we have no other job,” said fruit seller Antonio Lobos (58). It should be recalled that in 2020, guatemalan authorities established sanitary fences in several municipalities to slow the spread of the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus, but this generated discomfort that led to clashes between the population and police. Read more: Deputies of Morena will support the creation of Gas Bienestar: Ignacio Mier Until this Friday, Guatemalan authorities counted 314,302 Covid-19 chaos and 9,643 deaths associated with this disease. However, in recent weeks around 3 thousand infections have been recorded per day. Pasjkolero Yori Yoreme Mayo exhibition inaugurated in Los Mochis

Original source in Spanish