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Argentina’s Largest Province Pays Covid Patients to Isolate

Argentina’s Largest Province Will Pay Covid Patients to Isolate

Buenos Aires province, Argentina’s largest and most populous, is offering citizens an incentive to isolate in government facilities: a daily cash stipend.

The province will pay citizens with mild cases of coronavirus 500 pesos per day ($6.97) if they stay for 10 days in government facilities. The province aims to cut the coronavirus transmission chain after becoming the epicenter of the pandemic in Argentina. The province reported 3,801 new cases on July 22, more than twice as many as the city of Buenos Aires, and the largest number of deaths nationwide.

By comparison, the isolation pay-out represent a higher per-day value than that of the national emergency stipend of 10,000 pesos ($139) per month. The poverty line for the greater Buenos Aires area was 14,178 pesos ($197) in June, according to the national statistics agency.

“Some people may feel they’re giving up some things by isolating -- doing groceries, taking care of the kids,” Governor Axel Kicillof said in the announcement. “The province understands that those who isolate are sacrificing something and aims to compensate with the subsidy.”

Argentina’s Largest Province Pays Covid Patients to Isolate

After three weeks of allowing only essential activities in greater Buenos Aires, the national government last week gave the green light for certain activities to resume and stores to reopen amid concern over the economy, which is expected to suffer its deepest-ever recession in 2020. At 125 days, the national lockdown marks one of the longest shelter-in-place measures worldwide.

READ MORE: Argentina Eases Isolation Restrictions Despite Record Cases

The policy will apply to those who stay the full 10 days in the facility, and is only aimed at mild cases that don’t require hospitalization, including patients without symptoms.

Argentina reported 5,782 new cases on July 22, marking a daily record, according to the government’s morning virus report. The country also posted 111 new deaths that day, adding to a total 2,617.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.