COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela
As part of an ongoing worldwide pandemic, the first two patients with COVID-19 in Venezuela were confirmed on 13 March 2020;[2][3] the first death was reported on 26 March.[4]
| COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela | |
|---|---|
 Federal entities with confirmed (red) cases (as of 13 May 2020) No confirmed cases
1–5 confirmed 6–10 confirmed 11–30 confirmed 31–50 confirmed 51–100 confirmed ≥101 confirmed | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Location | Venezuela |
| First outbreak | China Spain United States Italy Colombia |
| Index case | Miranda State |
| Arrival date | 13 March 2020 (4 years, 5 months, 2 weeks and 3 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 440[1] (as of 13 May 2020) |
| Active cases | 210[1] (as of 13 May 2020) |
| Recovered | 220[1] (as of 13 May 2020) |
Deaths | 10[1] (as of 13 May 2020) |
Territories | Capital District, all 23 states and 1 federal dependency |
Records
However, the first record of a patient claiming to have symptoms of coronavirus disease dates back to 29 February 2020,[5] with government officials suspecting that the first person carrying the virus could have entered the country as early as 25 February.[6]
Vulnerability
Venezuela is particularly vulnerable to the pandemic because of its ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis causing massive shortages of food and basic necessities, including medical supplies.
The mass emigration of Venezuelan doctors has also caused chronic staff shortages in hospitals.
To prevent the spread of the disease into Venezuela, the governments of Brazil and Colombia temporarily closed their borders with Venezuela.
Response
Stay-at-home orders were announced on 15 March, when the country registered another seven cases, and introduced the next day across six states and the Caracas area.[7]
It was on the first day of the quarantine across six states, 16 March, that Argentina's ambassador in Venezuela, Eduardo Porretti, tested positive for the virus,[8] and Nicolás Maduro announced that sixteen new cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 33. Maduro extended the quarantine to the entire country.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Nicolás Maduro reporta 17 nuevos casos de COVID-19" (in es). Runrunes. 13 May 2020. https://runrun.es/noticias/407686/nicolas-maduro-reporta-17-nuevos-casos-de-covid-19/. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ↑ "Régimen de Maduro confirma dos primeros casos de coronavirus". NTN24.com (in español). 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ↑ Venezuela confirms coronavirus cases amid public health concerns. Reuters. 13 March 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-venezuela/venezuela-confirms-coronavirus-cases-amid-public-health-concerns-idUSKBN2102DR. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ↑ "Venezuela confirms first coronavirus death: official". Reuters. 26 March 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-venezuela-death-idUSKBN21D3Q3. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ↑ María Victoria Fermín (29 March 2020). "Tercer fallecido por coronavirus en el país era un taxista de Antímano" (in es). Efecto Cocuyo. https://efectococuyo.com/coronavirus/tercer-fallecido-por-coronavirus-en-el-pais-era-un-taxista-de-antimano/. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ↑ Souquett Gil, Mariana (1 April 2020). "De marzo a febrero: versiones sobre la llegada del coronavirus a Venezuela". Efecto Cocuyo (in español). Retrieved 2020-04-01.
- ↑ "Venezuela orders 'collective quarantine' in response to coronavirus". Reuters. 15 March 2020. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-venezuela/venezuela-orders-collective-quarantive-in-response-to-coronavirus-idUKKBN2121B8. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ↑ "Embajador de Argentina en Venezuela contrajo coronavirus". El Nacional (in español). 16 March 2020.
- ↑ "Maduro confirma 33 casos de coronavirus en Venezuela y ordena "cuarentena total" #16Mar". Runrunes (in español). 17 March 2020.
