section_path: Second presidency (2007–present)/Response to the COVID-19 pandemic
section_name: Response to the COVID-19 pandemic
paragraph_text: Response to the COVID-19 pandemic
  
  President Ortega's government has been the target of criticism for its lack of a response to the pandemic.
  
  On 14 March 2020, Ortega's government called a massive demonstration called "Love in the Time of COVID-19" as a show of support to him and his government. This occurred in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic which had only recently been officially declared by the WHO.
  
  According to CNN, as of mid-June 2020, Ortega had "refused to impose strict, preventive quarantine measures seen in neighboring countries" to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. "Public schools remain open, businesses continue to operate, festivals and cultural events are happening on an almost-weekly basis." The story stated that from mid-March to mid-June six politicians had died, and, according to witnesses, their remains disposed of at night in "express burials" (with police in attendance but "no Mass, no wake and no funeral arrangements", no photographs). The Ortega government said reports of "express burials" were "false news". According to AP News "the government threatened to ban" professional baseball players "who refuse to play baseball... And everyone is warned to keep quiet." In hospitals "ruling-party activists ensure no information leaks out", and it quotes a doctor (anesthesiologist María Nela Escoto) complaining that in the public hospital where she works "everything is secret. They don't allow suggestions, and you can't question anything because they're watching. It's a very hostile environment." (At the start of the pandemic, Ortega was out of the public eye for "more than 40 days", and no explanation was given for his absence when he returned.)