Coronavirus: worried about slum conditions in Argentina

Villa 31, a poor neighborhood in Buenos Aires, May 6, 2020. REUTERS / Agustin Marcarian

Text by: Aude Villiers-Moriamé

With less than 9,000 confirmed cases, including 400 officially recorded deaths, Argentina seems relatively unaffected by Covid-19 in comparison with certain European countries. This is partly the result of strict containment put in place very early on by the authorities. However, despite the precautions taken, the number of cases has increased sharply in recent days. And the situation in lower-income neighborhoods is of particular concern.

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From our correspondent in Buenos Aires,

The virus is spreading faster and faster in the country's many slums. In Buenos Aires, a third of the confirmed cases of coronavirus were recorded in the popular districts of the capital where the inhabitants have very limited access to running water, and where the families are often crammed in small spaces. It is difficult to implement the sanitary measures and the barrier measures recommended in the face of the coronavirus.

1,400 cases have already been confirmed in the slums of Buenos Aires, including at least twelve deaths. One death in particular made a lot of noise: that of Ramona Medina, 42, a manager of social organization who was very active in Villa 31 , a huge slum in Buenos Aires where more than 40,000 people live. Just two weeks before his death, Ramona Medina had denounced the water cuts that regularly occurred in the neighborhood.

"  Stay in your neighborhood  "

Initially, the authorities mainly tried to adapt the measures taken against the coronavirus to the reality of working-class neighborhoods. The containment instruction promoted by the government, "Stay at home", for example, has been transformed into "Stay in your neighborhood", because it is difficult for slum dwellers to respect strict confinement in substandard housing, and to be crowded is not recommended to several in a room.

Local and national authorities worked fairly early on with social organizations and religious representatives established in these neighborhoods to raise awareness among residents as much as possible. Several parishes have been transformed into temporary reception centers for the elderly.

Insufficient measures

The government launched a program last month called "The neighborhood takes care of the neighborhood". It facilitates the distribution of food and hygiene products to the inhabitants. In this context, small stands have been set up at the entrance to the districts to facilitate the disinfection of bags and other objects entering and leaving the slum.

Except that today, these measures are no longer enough. With the increase in cases of coronavirus , social organizations are demanding new actions from the authorities. The main demands relate to an increase in the number of prevention stands in working-class neighborhoods, as well as to the provision of housing that would allow contaminated residents to carry out their quarantine in good conditions. There are also plans to increase the number of tests performed. These are all measures that aim to limit the contagion as much as possible, while Argentina is approaching the southern winter and falling temperatures are raising fears of an explosion in the number of cases.

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  • Argentina
  • Coronavirus
  • Health and Medicine
  • Poverty

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