COVID-19 pandemic in Uruguay
| COVID-19 pandemic in Uruguay | |
|---|---|
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Uruguay |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China |
| Index case | Montevideo |
| Arrival date | 13 March 2020 (5 years, 4 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 1,042,815[1] |
| Active cases | 59,339 |
| Severe cases | 165 |
| Recovered | 683,519 |
Deaths | 7,695[1] |
| Fatality rate | 1.2% |
| Government website | |
| Sistema Nacional de Emergencias | |
The COVID-19 pandemic in Uruguay has resulted in 1,042,815[1] confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 7,695[1] deaths.
The first cases in Uruguay were reported on 13 March 2020 by the Ministry of Public Health.[2] The early cases were imported from Italy and Spain, with some local transmissions.[3] The majority of early cases were traced to a wedding with 500 people in attendance in Montevideo, attended by a Uruguayan fashion designer who returned from Spain and later tested positive.[4][5] Various containment measures were introduced in mid-March, and major restrictions on movement followed in late March. Uruguay is one of the few countries in Latin America to have been able to avoid large outbreaks for a considerable amount of time due to their closing of borders with neighboring countries. The country had one of the lowest numbers of active cases per population in South America up until December when the public health authorities announced that large outbreaks had led to community transmission in Montevideo.[6] On 23 January 2021, President Luis Lacalle Pou announced during a press conference that the government purchased doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Sinovac Biotech, while negotiating with a third manufacturer.[7]
- ^ a b c d Mathieu, Edouard; Ritchie, Hannah; Rodés-Guirao, Lucas; Appel, Cameron; Giattino, Charlie; Hasell, Joe; Macdonald, Bobbie; Dattani, Saloni; Beltekian, Diana; Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Roser, Max (2020–2024). "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Our World in Data. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ "A brand-new challenge" (in Spanish). El Observador. 15 March 2020.
- ^ "Confirmaron primeros 4 casos de coronavirus en Uruguay; todos habían regresado de Italia" (in Spanish). EL PAIS. 13 March 2020.
- ^ "Half of Uruguay's coronavirus cases traced to a single guest at a society party". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Half of Uruguay's COVID-19 cases can be traced to one fashion designer". Fastcompany.com. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ "El GACH proyecta a Uruguay en "zona roja" el 27 de diciembre si se mantiene la tendencia actual". El Observador. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ "Pfizer y Sinovac: las primeras vacunas elegidas por el gobierno". El Observador. Retrieved 27 January 2021.