More than 71,000 people are infected in the country.
The interim Bolivian Government had declared a national disaster regime in order to obtain a loan to combat the effects of the pandemic. The decree was published on Monday in the official newspaper of the Bolivian government.
“A national disaster regime has been declared throughout the Plurinational State of Bolivia to address urgent economic issues caused by the negative effects of the coronavirus”, – the document says.
It also notes that the Ministry of Economy “will apply to the Central Bank of Bolivia to obtain a loan in favor of the State treasury to implement economic measures to combat the effects” of the pandemic. The size of the loan is not specified in the decree.
Previously, a parliamentary commission of the lower house of the Bolivian Parliament, majority owned by supporters of former President Evo Morales, rejected a bill sent by the Government to accept a $327 million loan from the country, which was approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country to fight the pandemic and its consequences. According to parliamentarians, receiving the loan will lead to budget cuts.
March 10, Bolivian authorities reported on the first two cases of infection with coronavirus in the country. To date, more than 71 thousand people have been infected, while more than 2.6 thousand died. In mid-March, the interim authorities declared a state of emergency in the country.