COVID-19 pandemic in Paraguay

COVID-19 pandemic in Paraguay
Equipment for responding to the pandemic, donated to Paraguay by the International Atomic Energy Agency
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Paraguay
First outbreak	Wuhan, Hubei, China (global) Guayaquil, Ecuador (local)
Index case	Central department
Arrival date	7 March 2020 (4 years, 8 months and 4 days)
Confirmed cases	735,759[1]
Recovered	791,239 (updated 27 June 2023) [2]
Deaths	19,880[1]
Fatality rate	2.7%
Vaccinations	3,995,915[1] (total vaccinated) 3,550,673[1] (fully vaccinated) 9,954,852[1] (doses administered)
Government website
www.mspbs.gov.py/covid-19 (in Spanish)

The COVID-19 pandemic in Paraguay was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Paraguay on March 7, 2020, in a 32-year-old man from Guayaquil, Ecuador, living in San Lorenzo, Central Department. Three days later, on March 10, 2020, a second case was confirmed in a 61-year-old man who traveled from Argentina; the same day three more cases were confirmed. Due to this spike, the government began imposing the first measures to stop the disease from spreading.

On March 10, 2020, the Paraguayan government suspended classes and all activities that involved groups of people, as well as public and private events, with the goal of avoiding the spread of the virus, pursuant to Decree no. 3442/2020.^[3] Other preventive measures were adopted, such as commerce and movement restrictions, suspension of flights, border closures, curfews, and strengthening controls to ensure compliance with the measures.^[4]

On March 20, 2020, the first death and the first case of community transmission were confirmed. The government declared a total quarantine until May 3, with free movement completely restricted. Public movement was restricted to buying food, medicine and other essential items.^[5][6][7] At the end of March, the government began to invite Paraguayan expatriates to return to their homeland with opportunities to isolate in supervised shelters, designated and paid for by the government. Returned expatriates were required to quarantine for 14 days. Many expatriates also quarantined in hotels, (called Health Hotels), if they could afford to do so.

After May 4, 2020, Paraguay implemented the so-called "Intelligent/Smart" Quarantine, a gradual return to work and social activities with social distancing and health-focused measures. However, the border remained closed and other inter-country activities remained restricted.

After October 5, 2020, the country moved to a new phase known as the "Covid way of living," relaxing restrictions on most activities while maintaining an increased focus on sanitation until a vaccine or cure was found. National borders were opened and some international flights were resumed. Eventually, specific exceptions could be raised by regional zones or by a particular economic sector, if the circumstances required it. Online learning and nightly curfew were still in effect indefinitely.^[8]

COVID-19 ^[9] is caused by SARS-CoV-2.^[10] All regions of Paraguay were affected by COVID-19, leaving no region untouched by the disease. Face masks were required by the government and helped to stop the spread of the virus.

On February 18, 2021, Paraguay received the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. There were 4,000 doses of the Sputnik V Vaccine.^[11] On February 22, 2021, the vaccine initiative began in Paraguay, focused on vaccinating frontline medical workers who had higher risk of exposure to the disease.

As of February 2022, all restrictions have been lifted by the government, with the only recommendation being to wear a face mask in indoor spaces. In certain cases, proof of vaccination is also required.