Montevideo, Canelones and Lavalleja are the departments with the highest infection rates in the country. | Photo: El Comercio

Montevideo, October 31 (RHC)-- The Ministry of Public Health (MSP) of Uruguay reported the presence of 315 new infections to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, which evidences an increase in the rate of cases.

Health authorities detail that the most affected departments were Montevideo with 132, Canelones (55), Lavalleja (23), and Tacuarembó (20) as part of an epidemiological situation in which all departments of the South American country exhibit active cases.

The 315 new cases reported on Saturday are in addition to the 294 reported the day before, and health authorities have decided to reinforce some measures to avoid the spread of the virus.

Precisely, in view of this infectious panorama, the department of Lavalleja entered the red risk zone due to the increase in the number of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections, a trend that had not been seen since last July.

According to the Harvard index, this borderline category corresponds to the confirmation of more than 25 positives per 100,000 inhabitants in the last week of sampling.

The last similar situation experienced in Uruguay dates back to July 13 last year, when Maldonado was the last of the territories to leave the red zone and move to the less dangerous orange zone, contrary to the reinsertion of Lavalleja on this occasion.

In this South American country, 2,162 people currently remain as active cases, 1,000 more than the average number of infected previously published by the National Emergency System; while 21 are in intensive care centers (ICU).

Regarding vaccination, the web monitor developed by the MSP reveals that up to Friday afternoon 2,620,098 people, 73.90 percent of the population completed their immunization schedule; while another 140,783 have been inoculated only with the first dose of some antiviral drug.

As a result, government authorities in Montevideo, Canelones and Lavalleja postponed the celebration of some activities with a large number of people in order to avoid potential risks of contagion in public shows.

In addition, a government decree stipulates that tourists entering Uruguay as from November 1 must have a complete vaccination schedule and a second PCR test within the previous 72 hours, carried out in the country of origin.