Argentina says virus still a threat despite drop in COVID-19 cases

BUENOS AIRES - New daily cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to steadily decline in Argentina, but the pandemic still presents a threat to public health, the Health Ministry warned on Monday.

"The pandemic is not over, and we are still working to be able to continue opening up, to continue the recovery of different activities," the ministry's Secretary of Health Access Carla Vizzotti told a press conference.

"It is very important to remember that it is time to continue taking care of ourselves, to continue complying with the recommendations, to be able to sustain this decrease in the number of cases," said Vizzotti.

Argentina's daily average of new cases in the past seven days has been 7,706.

Since the onset of the pandemic here, the country has reported 1,418,807 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 38,473 deaths from the disease, according to the ministry.

More than 80 percent of the deaths involved people over 60 years old, with two important risk factors diabetes and obesity, the ministry added.