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COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala

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COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationGuatemala
First outbreakWuhan, China
Index caseGuatemala City
Arrival date13 March 2020
(4 years, 3 months and 6 days)
Confirmed cases142,064[1][2]
Active cases9,491[1][2]
Suspected cases‡61,600
Recovered129,990[1][2]
Deaths
16,097[1][2]
Fatality rate3.8%
Government website
www.mspas.gob.gt
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Guatemala in March 2020.

Background[edit]

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[3][4] The case fatality ratio for C[5] OVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[6][7] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[8][6]

On January 31, president of Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei issued a prohibition for the arrival of visitors coming from the People's Republic of China due to the international concern for the outbreak that originated in Wuhan.[9]

On February 25, the government implements safety procedures for travellers coming from high-risk countries who are entering Guatemala from any terrestrial, maritime or aerial transport. These countries include China, South Korea, Iran and every European country.[citation needed]

Throughout the pandemic, there have been corruption scandals related to a fraud ring inside the ministry and fraudulent test purchases. Hence, there have been protests throughout the country, mainly in Guatemala City, where citizens stood up for more protective equipment for frontline workers, against ongoing labour rights violations and pandemic-related corruption.[4]

Timeline[edit]

COVID-19 cases in Guatemala  (
)
     Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases
MarAprMayJunJulAugSepOct
Last 15 days
Date
# of cases
# of deaths
2020-10-01
92,409(+0.72%) 3,261(+0.46%)
2020-10-02
93,090(+0.74%) 3,267(+0.18%)
2020-10-03
93,748(+0.71%) 3,285(+0.55%)
2020-10-04
93,963(+0.23%) 3,293(+0.24%)
2020-10-05
94,182(+0.23%) 3,302(+0.27%)
2020-10-06
94,870(+0.73%) 3,310(+0.24%)
2020-10-07
95,704(+0.88%) 3,335(+0.76%)
2020-10-08
96,480(+0.81%) 3,347(+0.36%)
2020-10-09
96,935(+0.47%) 3,356(+0.27%)
2020-10-10
97,544(+0.63%) 3,365(+0.27%)
2020-10-11
97,715(+0.18%) 3,384(+0.56%)
2020-10-12
97,826(+0.11%) 3,387(+0.09%)
2020-10-13
98,380(+0.57%) 3,410(+0.68%)
2020-10-14
99,094(+0.73%) 3,430(+0.59%)
2020-10-15
99,765(+0.68%) 3,453(+0.67%)
Sources:

Notes:

  1. ^ From 30 March 2020 until 18 July 2020, cases are recorded on the day before (March 29) it was reported to the media.
  2. ^ On 18 July 2020, Ministry of Health added more than 3,000 cases to the reports due to errors in typing and reporting. Ministry of Health also adjusted the recovery figures, increasing Guatemala's recovery rates to over 60% (and increasing ever since). Deaths are not affected from adjustment of cases and recoveries.

Cases
Cases
Deaths
Deaths

On 13 March 2020, the first case in Guatemala, a Guatemalan man who traveled from Italy to Guatemala, was confirmed.[11] The man arrived in Villa Nueva, a suburb of Guatemala City, along with two of his family members and five Salvadorans on an Aeroméxico flight.[citation needed]

Two days prior to the country's first case, the Guatemalan government banned entry to citizens of all European countries, Iran, China and South Korea, which was put into effect on 12 March.[12]

On 13 March 2020, the Guatemalan government extended its travel restrictions to travelers from the US and Canada.[13] Starting on 16 March, no travelers coming from these countries will be allowed to enter Guatemala, until March 31 (15 day quarantine is in place as of March 16).[citation needed]

On 15 March 2020, the Guatemalan government confirmed its second case and the first COVID-19 death in the country. an 85-year-old man who arrived from Madrid with his family nine days earlier.[14] The same day, the Guatemalan government cancels all public events and prohibits agglomerations of more than 100 people. All public and private schools and universities are to be closed for at least three weeks. Holy Week celebrations are also cancelled.[15]

On March 21, 2020, the Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei alongside its vice-president and the Council Of Ministry declared a nationwide curfew and a global travel ban, in an effort to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent the spreading of the virus.[citation needed]

On April 23, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights calls on Mexican and Central American governments to halt deportations during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2,500 migrants are stuck in Panama because Honduras has closed its border. Mexico has dumped migrants in Guatemala, but Guatemala has not let them in. On April 23 the organization helped 41 migrants return to El Salvador from Mexico.[16]

On April 26, Mexico's National Institute of Migration (INM) empties the 65 migrant detention centers it has across the country by returning 3,653 people to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras in the hope of preventing outbreaks of COVID-19.[17]

At least forty Mexican and Guatemalan farm workers in Canada have coronavirus, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union on May 2.[18]

On May 25, at least two hundred textile workers at the ′′K.P. Textil′′ plant in San Miguel Petapa tested positive for COVID-19. Nine cases were reported at the plant on May 12, but human rights groups complain that no action was taken at the time. Guatemala reported more than 3,300 confirmed infections and 58 deaths.[19]

On 18 September, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said that he tested positive for the coronavirus.[20]

Statistics[edit]

Daily New Confirmed Cases[edit]

Daily New Deaths[edit]

Vaccination[edit]

Guatemala has developed a vaccination campaign in four phases: (1) health professionals, (2a) People over 70, (2b) people over 50, (3) essential workers, (4) people over 18.[21] Each phase is categorized in more specific subgroups. Guatemala is among the countries with the slowest vaccine roll out in Central America. By the end of May 2021, Guatemala has administered 2.36 doses per 100 people.[22] Similar to other countries in the region, Guatemala has received 403,000 vaccines doses through the COVAX mechanism, a global initiative that aims at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.[23] Furthermore, Guatemala has received donations from Israel, India and Russia which makes a total of 658,200 doses out of which 90 percent consist of AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine.[5] However, by the end of May 2021 only 429,959 doses have been administered.[22] The supply of Guatemala as of May 2021 covers 44.7% of the population.[24] Like Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay, Guatemala is not a recipient of vaccine donations from China, as they have diplomatic ties with Taiwan instead of China and recognize Taipei over Beijing.[25] As the vaccination roll out has been slow and the government failed to prepare cold storages, vaccine centres and personnel in time, some of vaccine doses may expire by June 2021.[5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Twitter". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Coronavirus" (in Spanish). Ministerio de Salud Pública (Guatemala).
  3. ^ Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Cuffe, Sandra. "Anger grows in Guatemala over COVID vaccine rollout, corruption". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  7. ^ "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  8. ^ "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Coronavirus: Guatemala prohíbe ingreso a personas procedentes de China" (in Spanish). PERSPECTIVA. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  10. ^ "(Liveblog): Ahora que llegamos a 176 casos en un día, Giammattei endurece medidas". Prensa Libre. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Coronavirus: Alejandro Giammattei confirma el primer caso de covid-19 en Guatemala". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). 13 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Guatemala to ban entry of Europeans, Chinese, others to keep out coronavirus". National Post. Reuters. 11 March 2020. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Guatemala Bans Arrivals From U.S., Canada to Fight Corona-virus". U.S. News. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Ministerio de Salud Publica: Comunicado No. 36" (in Spanish). March 2020.
  15. ^ "Ministerio de Salud Publica: Comunicado No. 33" (in Spanish). March 2020.
  16. ^ "UN alarmed by migrants caught in no-man's land at borders". ABC News. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Mexico returns Central Americans, empties migrant centers". AP NEWS. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Detectan a trabajadores agrícolas mexicanos con COVID-19 en Canadá". El Informador :: Noticias de Jalisco, México, Deportes & Entretenimiento (in European Spanish). 5 February 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  19. ^ "More than 200 COVID-19 infections at Guatemala textile plant". ABC News. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  20. ^ Peñaloza, Marisa (18 September 2020). "President of Guatemala Tests Positive for COVID-19". NPR.
  21. ^ "Plan Nacional de Vacunacion" (PDF). Government of Guatemala. 31 May 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 March 2021.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b "COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the Americas". ais.paho.org. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Microsoft Power BI". app.powerbi.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Timeline: Tracking Latin America's Road to Vaccination". AS/COA. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Vaccines Reignite China vs. Taiwan Debate in Latin America". AS/COA. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
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