Speaker 1: Welcome to Prague Nosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day one
Speaker 1: thirty one since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Today's
Speaker 1: main story Latin America has been hard hit by the pandemic,
Speaker 1: but there's one small country in the region that is
Speaker 1: quietly beating COVID despite bordering countries where the virus rages.
Speaker 1: But first, here's what happened in virus news today. US
Speaker 1: Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Stephen Manuchin, and
Speaker 1: other GOP leaders began hammering out the details of a
Speaker 1: roughly one trillion dollar Republican plan for a new round
Speaker 1: of virus relief. At will be their opening bid as
Speaker 1: they begin negotiations with Democrats, who have already put out
Speaker 1: an expansive three point five trillion dollar proposal. The two
Speaker 1: sides remain far apart on many of the particulars, including
Speaker 1: McConnell's determination to include liability limits for businesses, schools, and
Speaker 1: other organizations. Hong Kong reported sixty six new local virus cases,
Speaker 1: down from eighty three on Sunday. The new outbreak has
Speaker 1: now infected five hundred and sixty local people in sixteen days,
Speaker 1: alarming health officials. About a third of infections are unlinked
Speaker 1: to confirmed cases or existing outbreaks, signaling that hidden chains
Speaker 1: of transmission are widespread. In light of the outbreak, the
Speaker 1: Financial Hub is extending restaurant restrictions as well as JIM
Speaker 1: and bar closures by another week, and it's expanding mask requirements. Finally,
Speaker 1: a coronavirus vaccine the University of Oxford is developing with
Speaker 1: Astra Zenica showed promising results in early human testing. The
Speaker 1: vaccine shows what's called a dual immune response. That means
Speaker 1: it increased levels of both protective neutralizing antibodies and immune
Speaker 1: T cells that target the virus. That's according to results
Speaker 1: that were published today in the Lancet Medical Journal. And
Speaker 1: now for today's main story. The small South American nation
Speaker 1: of Uruguay is best known for its grass fed beef
Speaker 1: and Atlantic beaches, but the country of three point five
Speaker 1: million people has another distinction. It seems to have dodged
Speaker 1: the worst of the COVID nineteen outbreak. Despite being nestled
Speaker 1: between hot spot countries. The country has seen just one
Speaker 1: thousand or so cases since the pandemic began, and only
Speaker 1: thirty three deaths. Ken Parks reports the reasons may have
Speaker 1: as much to do with its policies from years past
Speaker 1: as its present day virus response. What is the secret
Speaker 1: to uruguay success? First, it acted fast. President LUs Lakaishapo
Speaker 1: ordered a voluntary lockdown and closed international borders less than
Speaker 1: a month after taking office March first. Speaking at a
Speaker 1: seminar in June, lakaijah Po has said his decision to
Speaker 1: appeal to his compatriots responsible exercise of liberty, as he
Speaker 1: refers to his voluntary lockdown policy, wasn't an easy one.
Speaker 1: It was March, and his advisers had provided infection forecasts
Speaker 1: ranging from tift cases to his meanings a quarter of
Speaker 1: a million cases. The decision to say no to obligatory
Speaker 1: quarantine was a little more complex based on the data
Speaker 1: we have. Of equal or greater importance are Uruguay's institutional assets.
Speaker 1: It's one of the wealthiest nations in the region, with
Speaker 1: a mature political system that sees little to gain from
Speaker 1: sacrifice in the country to advance partisans agendas. Uruguay is
Speaker 1: also reaping dividends from the heavy investments in public healthcare
Speaker 1: and social programs. The left wing Broad Front Party made
Speaker 1: during his fifteen years in power. The government strategy of
Speaker 1: widespread testing, contact tracing, and voluntary lockdown is paying off.
Speaker 1: Most schools are now holding classes and malls, shops, restaurants,
Speaker 1: and government offices are open. Active COVID cases have held
Speaker 1: below or just above one since early June. Uruguay's manage
Speaker 1: all that, even though it counts COVID hotspots Argentina and
Speaker 1: Brazil as neighbors. I recently spoke with Public Health Minister
Speaker 1: Daniel Salinas about Uruguay's success in containing the pandemic. Minister Sealinas,
Speaker 1: a medical doctor, urge his compatriots to appreciate and defend
Speaker 1: the country's COVID gains. Has to appreciate and defend its status.
Speaker 1: It has to be part of our identity. It's like
Speaker 1: in football. We have to win this World Cup. That
Speaker 1: doesn't mean we have won the battle, because at any
Speaker 1: moment something can happen that is beyond our control. The
Speaker 1: reopening of classes didn't generate one additional case. The reopening
Speaker 1: of shopping centers hasn't created spikes and activity. The opening
Speaker 1: of hotels and restaurants hasn't created problems. Daily Uruguay has
Speaker 1: increased entry requirements for citizens and foreign residents arriving from
Speaker 1: abroad by air, Fairie or Land. Authorities require new arrivals
Speaker 1: provide a negative COVID test taken no more than seventies
Speaker 1: two hours before traveling. After that, arrivals have to spend
Speaker 1: at least a week in quarantine and undergo another test.
Speaker 1: Uruguayan Brazil are also coordinating their COVID response measures along
Speaker 1: their border. Minister Selenas says the measures aimed to event
Speaker 1: further outbreaks like those in the provincial capitals of Rivera
Speaker 1: and train d Tace that were linked to Brazil, where
Speaker 1: many Uruguayans who live along the border go to shop
Speaker 1: Moulin Dando and you're shielding the country from the situation abroad.
Speaker 1: But in the end we depend on the personal conduct
Speaker 1: of our citizens because starting from one case, there were
Speaker 1: ninety seven cases, and Tres, which is a lesson looks,
Speaker 1: is a very small city that had ten percent of
Speaker 1: Uruguay's cases. Uruguay also faces the challenge reviving a tourism
Speaker 1: industry whose beaches, spas and casinos catered to more than
Speaker 1: one point seven million Argentines and almost half a million
Speaker 1: Brazilian slash here. I asked Minister Selenas if Uruguay is
Speaker 1: going to open its tourism ministry next summer, bud point.
Speaker 1: Don't know for sure. There is going to be domestic tourism,
Speaker 1: but conditions to enter the country aren't going to change.
Speaker 1: I hope there is a vaccine by then. What Luruguay
Speaker 1: is out performing most of its peers in terms of
Speaker 1: infection mortality rates. The pandemic has caused significant hardship for
Speaker 1: ordinary Ruguayans who have lost their jobs or struggled to
Speaker 1: keep their businesses afloat in the face of declining sales. Well,
Speaker 1: the unemployment rate has actually dropped below ten since the
Speaker 1: start of the pandemic. Economists attribute that to many of
Speaker 1: the jobless not actively looking for work. We'll swallow though
Speaker 1: fifty six Bones and operates a fruit and vegetable stand
Speaker 1: that service five neighborhood street markets in the capital Montivideo.
Speaker 1: I spoke with him recently at a morning street market
Speaker 1: in the neighborhood of Positos about how the pandemic has
Speaker 1: affected his business. In the market, Live is mainly off
Speaker 1: people more than forty years old. This is a morning
Speaker 1: market and active people are at work. In general, older people,
Speaker 1: parents and a family or grandparents come. Those are the
Speaker 1: people most affected, or at least the ones that have
Speaker 1: been declared at risk due to their age. It has
Speaker 1: an impact because older people don't come to the market,
Speaker 1: so there are fewer clients and sales. Draw idea and
Speaker 1: does is it in daily? Oswaldo says his sales are
Speaker 1: just six of what they were before the pandemic struck
Speaker 1: in early March. On a positive note, he notices that
Speaker 1: foot traffic in the market has been picking up for
Speaker 1: about a month. Federico runs a butcher's shop in the
Speaker 1: traditional middle class neighborhood of Delores in montivid Uruguayans are
Speaker 1: among the biggest meat eaters in the planet, consuming one
Speaker 1: five pounds of beef for person last year. I asked
Speaker 1: Federico how meat consumption has changed in the neighborhood during
Speaker 1: the pandemic. Consumption has held up or even increased a little.
Speaker 1: Places for eating outwork closed or people are spending more
Speaker 1: time at home and have more time to cook. Fortunately,
Speaker 1: our company has benefited from the pandemic because sales have increased.
Speaker 1: I'm going to see you. Uru Way has received international
Speaker 1: recognition for its handling of the pandemic. I asked Federico
Speaker 1: how this newfound attention makes him feel. One feels a
Speaker 1: lot of pride. I think things have been done right
Speaker 1: here since day zero, and people have been extra careful,
Speaker 1: so seeing them talk about US abroad is always a
Speaker 1: source of pride. I so far has managed to contain
Speaker 1: the pandemic, while it's larger neighbors struggle to get a
Speaker 1: grip on the disease. However, success can prove short lived
Speaker 1: due to COVID's uncanny ability to quickly spread, as illustrated
Speaker 1: by two outbreaks in provincial cities. An important outbreak in
Speaker 1: recent days at a hospital in the capital, Montevideo. Uruguay
Speaker 1: has won many battles against the pandemic, but it's too
Speaker 1: early to declare victory just yet. Perhaps the reopening of
Speaker 1: its international borders at some point down the road would
Speaker 1: be one sure sign that Uruguay has COVID on the ropes.
Speaker 1: That was Ken Parks in Montevideo. And that's it for
Speaker 1: our show today. For coverage of the outbreak from one
Speaker 1: bureaus around the world, visit Bloomberg dot com slash coronavirus
Speaker 1: and if you like the show, please leave us a
Speaker 1: review and a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's
Speaker 1: the best way to help more listeners find our global reporting.
Speaker 1: The Prognosis Daily Edition is produced by Tophor foreheads Jordan
Speaker 1: gas Pure, Magnus Hendrickson and Met Laura Carl Wilson. Today's
Speaker 1: main story was reported by Ken Parks. Original music by
Speaker 1: Leo Sidrin. Our editors are Rick Shine and Francesco Levi.
Speaker 1: Francesca Levi is Bloomberg's head of podcasts. Thanks for listening.