The Argentine government formalized the easing of the quarantine with the authorization of some activities in urban areas with more than 500,000 residents, which had been left out of the exceptions recently announced by President Alberto Fernández.

Through an Administrative Decision published in the Official Gazette, the Casa Rosada established new exceptions in Salta, Mendoza, Santa Fe, Rosario, and Mar del Plata, to which other large cities that are moving forward with authorizations could be added.

As of this Thursday, the "liberal professions" (lawyers, public accountants, real estate brokers, among others) and hairdressing establishments are authorized to operate in the Greater Mendoza metropolitan area. The province had already enabled private construction and received authorizations for almost 2,200 construction projects, most of them in the areas surrounding the provincial capital.

There are 80 cases of Coronavirus in the province of Cuyo, only one of them reported in the past six days. Mendoza had been on a one-week clean-up streak until last week but was cut off by a person who returned from abroad and did not comply with the quarantine.

In the city of Mar del Plata, which has been without a positive Coronavirus case for 22 consecutive days (except for two foreign cases) and only one active case, the national government made a long list of exceptions.

Paint shops, auctioneers and public brokers, economic science professionals and their professional councils, surveyors and their school, take-away restaurants, architecture studios, technical offices, and schools for the development of construction and private works are the new authorized establishments. Mayor Guillermo Montenegro had submitted a list of 18 activities to be authorized, most of which were approved.

In the Great Salta region, the Government granted the authorization for trade in its different forms so that they can market already elaborated merchandise, with limitations on customer service and entry. Also, it enabled delivery and take away for gastronomic activities.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, only 4 positive cases of Coronavirus were registered in the province of Salta. Governor Gustavo Saenz had arranged days ago for the reopening of shops that could only be attended by people according to their ID number and who did not use public transportation.

Finally, in Gran Santa Fe and Gran Rosario, the only activities enabled by the Federal Government are real estate and moving services.

As LPO reported, in Rosario, Governor Omar Perotti has eased the quarantine in the interior of the province but kept the two main conglomerates unchanged, even though Rosario has been free of new infections for eleven days, the capital for almost a month and the province has barely added one case in the last eight days (it has 244 in total).

The mayor of Rosario, Pablo Javkin, said on Wednesday that "an economic opening is being analyzed" starting next Monday. The areas analyzed include "private construction with up to five people and trades such as blacksmiths, glassmakers, electricians, plumbers, gas workers and bricklayers, sectors that are very complicated and do not always have access to aid," the mayor said.

Beyond the formal authorizations, other large cities are preparing to reactivate some activities. For example, in San Juan, Governor Sergio Uñac announced that starting Monday he will enable trade, including shopping malls, although with time restrictions, age (people over 60 will not be able to access) and according to ID numbers. The province has had three cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

For his part, the mayor of La Plata, Julio Garro, on Thursday said he was working "to enable as many shops as possible" because "the priority is to revive the local economy". The municipality has already received requests for the reopening of retail shops for goods and services, companies and industries, kinesiologists, psychologists, auctioneers, and real estate agents. The city has had no new infections in the last four days and adds up to 54.