In his daily COVID briefing, Maduro announced that there were 17 new cases of the deadly disease in the country, raising the total since the outbreak began there to 33. As a result, Maduro explained that he was ordering a general quarantine of the entire country starting tomorrow at 5:00 AM.
He made the announcement by saying:
I want to announce that starting tomorrow, March 17, at 5:00 AM, all of Venezuela will enter a social quarantine. It is a necessary drastic measure.
Maduro also admitted that the measures were needed given the state of the country’s healthcare system. He said:
We don’t have the advanced healthcare system that European countries have.
Maduro announced that the cases were distributed geographically in the following way:
- Caracas: 8
- Miranda state: 13
- La Guaira: 5
- Aragua state: 2
- Anzoategui state: 1
- Merida state: 1
- Cojedes state: 1
- Apure state: 1
Meanwhile, national Assembly deputy Delsa Solorzano said today that opposition leader Juan Guaido will announce two “concrete measures” regarding the COVID-19 outbreak in Venezuela in the coming hours, exposing the country’s deep political divide even at this critical junction in world history.
Solorzano said that Guaido would make “important announcements” alongside opposition deputies in the coming hours. Earlier today, Guaido suggested that the announcements involved arranging for medical aid to enter Venezuela in order to combat COVID-19.
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