Argentina cordons off virus-hit slum as critics decry 'ghettoes for poor people'
Source: The Guardian
Argentina cordons off virus-hit slum as critics decry 'ghettoes for poor people'
Drastic measures are being taken to contain the coronavirus in the Villa Azul area of Buenos Aires which has emerged as a hotspot
Uki Goñi in Buenos Aires
Wed 27 May 2020 19.24 BST
Last modified on Wed 27 May 2020 20.00 BST
Security forces in Argentina have cordoned off one of the countrys poorest slums, preventing inhabitants from entering or leaving the neighbourhood after a surge of coronavirus cases.
Police officers erected barriers at the entrance to Villa Azul on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Monday after widespread testing was launched in poorer districts.
By Wednesday, 174 of 301 tests carried out in Villa Azul had come back positive, and officials expressed concern that if the 4,000 or so inhabitants of the neighbourhood were allowed to move freely, they could spread the virus to other areas nearby.
This is worse than a nuclear explosion, said Sergio Berni, the security minister for
Buenos Aires, on Wednesday. At least you can measure radioactivity in real time. With this [virus], its 14 days late.
But the move was criticized by local activists and even members of Argentinas leftwing government. It looks like we are creating ghettoes for poor people, said a junior minister for social development, Daniel Menéndez.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/27/argentina-cordons-off-coronavirus-slum-ghettoes-for-poor-people