Stegvis återöppning i Chile: ”Fem veckors förbättringar”

The COVID-19 pandemic in Chile is 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 Chile in March 2020. While initial cases had been imported from South East Asia and Europe, they expanded into a sizeable quantity of untraceable infections, placing the country within phase 4 of the pandemic as defined by the World Health Organization, and surpassing a thousand confirmed cases on 25 March 2020. The cases have concentrated in the Greater Santiago area, with outbreaks in other areas like the Norte Grande, Araucanía, Chillán and Punta Arenas. No national lockdown has been established in Chile, as in neighbouring Argentina and Peru, but only in some communes and urban areas. On 16 May 2020, the whole city of Santiago was put under mandatory quarantine due to an increase of cases; similar situation was extended to Valparaíso-Viña del Mar, Antofagasta, Arica and Iquique the following month. As of 17 July 2020, Chile has the third largest number of cases in South America, after Brazil and Peru, and the eighth largest in the world. Considering its population, Chile has one of the worst outbreaks in the world, with more than 16,000 cases and 577 deaths per million inhabitants. Initially, the number of fatalities reported was lower than other countries in the region, even with less cases. However, in May 2020 the number of cases and deaths increased rapidly, while several sources reported additional numbers of excess deaths not counted. By June 2020, the government confirmed thousands of additional deaths due to COVID-19, including suspected cases where PCR tests were not available. By July 2020, the number of deceased surpassed 10,000 people.The impact of the pandemic has been great in the South American country. In March 2020, when the first cases of COVID-19 appeared, the country was still facing protests and riots that had begun in October 2019, and the pandemic affected the scheduled 2020 Chilean national plebiscite, which was rescheduled. Partial lockdowns and quarantines were established in the first months, hitting the economy of the country. By April 2020, unemployment had reached 9%, a record-high level in the past 10 years, while the economy had shrunk by 14.1%. A new wave of protests sparked in late May, mainly in Santiago, due to food shortages and lack of support.