Argentina records new Covid daily high: 20,870 cases in last 24 hours

The second wave has officially arrived. Argentina's Health Ministry announced Tuesday that a new record of 20,870 confirmed cases of Covid-19 had been recorded over the past 24 hours, confirming fears of a new surge of the virus.

The government also confirmed 163 new deaths, lifting the overall death toll to 56,643.

A total of 2,428,029 people have now been infected since the beginning of the pandemic. Of those, more than 2.1 million have recovered, with 207,350 cases still active.

Crunching Tuesday's numbers, around half have to do with an explosion of cases in Buenos Aires Province, which also broke its historical record with 10,402 new infections. the previous high had been 8,603 cases, recorded last Wednesday. A total of 2,281 new cases were recorded in Buenos Aires City, the nation's capital.

Some experts believe the new surge in cases can be, in part, explained by the circulation of new strains in the country, including one originating from Manaus, Brazil, which is believe to be more contagious. Government officials at national, provincial and municipal levels are discussing the potential introduction of new restrictions, which could arrive imminently.

In its daily report, the Health Ministry reported that 75,392 tests had been carried out over the last 24 hours. To date, more than 9.1 million tests have been carried out since the beginning of the pandemic.

More than 3,000 individuals with Covid-19 remain in intensive care across the country, with bed occupancy in ICU units at 57.4 percent nationwide and 63.5 percent in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA).

– TIMES/PERFIL