“Starting from midnight, everyone must be in preventive and mandatory social isolation. Nobody can leave home … This measure will be in place until 31 March”, the president said late Thursday.
According to Fernandez, Argentine citizens will be allowed to visit shops and pharmacies but anyone found outdoors will be asked to explain the reason behind the decision to leave home.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Argentina has reached 97 with three fatalities.
The World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. The coronavirus outbreak has left at least 8,778 people dead, with over 209,000 infected, WHO data shows.
According to John Hopkins University, more than 244,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 10,000 fatalities.