covid-19 pandemic in venezuela covid-19 pandemic in venezuela the covid-19 pandemic in venezuela was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2). the first two cases in venezuela were confirmed on 13 march 2020; the first death was reported on 26 march. however, the first record of a patient claiming to have symptoms of coronavirus disease dates back to 29 february 2020, with government officials suspecting that the first person carrying the virus could have entered the country as early as 25 february. covid-19 pandemic in venezuelaline for gas during the pandemic in miranda federal entities with confirmed (red) cases (as of 1 november 2020) no confirmed cases 1-1000 confirmed 1001-2500 confirmed 2501-5000 confirmed 5001-10000 confirmed 10001-20000 confirmed ≥20001 confirmeddiseasecovid-19virus strainsars-cov-2locationvenezuelafirst outbreakwuhan, hubei, china (global) brazil, colombia, italy, spain and the united states (imported)index casemiranda statearrival date13 march 2020(3 years and 2 months)confirmed cases376,311 (as of 5 october 2021)active cases4137 (as of 5 october 2021)recovered357,339 (as of 5 october 2021)deaths4,539 (as of 5 october 2021)territoriescapital district, all 23 states and 1 federal dependencygovernment websitecovid19.patria.org.vecoronavirusvenezuela.info crisis in venezuela causes bolivarian revolution chavismo economic policy under hugo chávez economic policy under nicolás maduro effects refugee crisis blackouts energy crisis defections international sanctions piracy shortages venezuela–colombia migrant crisis hyperinflation catatumbo campaign xenophobic incidents pemon conflict events dakazo arrest of antonio ledezma 2016 recall movement 2017 venezuelan constitutional crisis lima group 2018 re-election campaign of nicolás maduro venezuelan presidential crisis 2019 shipping of humanitarian aid to venezuela venezuela aid live covid-19 pandemic elections 2013 presidential election 2015 parliamentary election 2017 referendum 2017 constituent assembly election 2018 presidential election protests 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 timeline 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 armed violence caracas helicopter incident 2017 national assembly attack attack on fort paramacay el junquito raid caracas drone attack 2019 uprising attempt 2020 barquisimeto shooting operation gideon (2020) 2021 apure clashes 2022 arauca clashes venezuela portal venezuela is particularly vulnerable to the wider effects of the pandemic because of its ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis causing massive shortages of food staples and basic necessities, including medical supplies. the mass emigration of venezuelan doctors has also caused chronic staff shortages in hospitals. to prevent the spread of the disease into venezuela, the governments of brazil and colombia temporarily closed their borders with venezuela. the colombian government had placed 1 october as a tentative date for reopening the border. in february 2021, venezuela started vaccinations with the russian sputnik v covid-19 vaccine and a vaccine produced by the chinese company sinopharm. it aimed to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by the end of 2021. an academic survey found that by the 1 september 2021, 10% of the venezuelan population was fully vaccinated. by the end of 2021, venezuela had administered 30,049,714 doses of vaccine, about 52.7% of the country's population. background in january, venezuela's ministry of popular power for health announced that the rafael rangel national institute of hygiene (spanish: instituto nacional de higiene rafael rangel) in caracas would act as the observatory for non-influenza respiratory viruses, including coronaviruses in humans. it is the only health institution in the country with the ability to diagnose respiratory viruses and to operate logistically across the 23 states, the capital district and the federal dependencies of venezuela. in february, the venezuelan government announced that the country had imposed epidemiological surveillance, restrictions and a plan to detect individuals with covid-19 at the simón bolívar international airport in maiquetía, venezuela's main international airport. they said venezuela would receive diagnostic kits for the virus strain from the pan american health organization (paho). timeline covid-19 cases in venezuela () deaths recoveries active casesmarmarapraprmaymayjunjunjuljulaugaugsepsepoctoctnovnovlast 15 dayslast 15 days date# of cases# of deaths 2020-03-132(n.a.) 2020-03-1410(+400%) 2020-03-1517(+70%) 2020-03-1633(+94%) 2020-03-1736(+9.1%) 2020-03-1836(=) 2020-03-1942(+17%) 2020-03-20 2020-03-2170(n.a.) 2020-03-2277(+10%) 2020-03-2384(+9.1%) 2020-03-2491(+8.3%) 2020-03-25106(+16%) 2020-03-26107(+0.94%)1(n.a.) 2020-03-27113(+5.6%)2(+100%) 2020-03-28119(+5.3%)2(=) 2020-03-29129(+8.4%)3(+50%) 2020-03-30135(+4.7%)3(=) 2020-03-31143(+5.9%)3(=) 2020-04-01144(+0.7%)3(=) 2020-04-02146(+1.4%)5(+67%) 2020-04-03153(+4.8%)7(+40%) 2020-04-04155(+1.3%)7(=) 2020-04-05159(+2.6%)7(=) 2020-04-06165(+3.8%)7(=) 2020-04-07166(+0.61%)7(=) 2020-04-08167(+0.6%)9(+29%) 2020-04-09171(+2.4%)9(=) 2020-04-10175(+2.3%)9(=) 2020-04-11175(=)9(=) 2020-04-12181(+3.4%)9(=) 2020-04-13189(+4.4%)9(=) 2020-04-14193(+2.1%)9(=) 2020-04-15197(+2.1%)9(=) 2020-04-16204(+3.6%)9(=) 2020-04-17227(+11%)9(=) 2020-04-18227(=)9(=) 2020-04-19256(+13%)9(=) 2020-04-20285(+11%)10(+11%) 2020-04-21288(+1.1%)10(=) 2020-04-22298(+3.5%)10(=) 2020-04-23311(+4.4%)10(=) 2020-04-24318(+2.3%)10(=) 2020-04-25323(+1.6%)10(=) 2020-04-26325(+0.62%)10(=) 2020-04-27329(+1.2%)10(=) 2020-04-28329(=)10(=) 2020-04-29331(+0.61%)10(=) 2020-04-30333(+0.6%)10(=) 2020-05-01335(+0.6%)10(=) 2020-05-02345(+3%)10(=) 2020-05-03357(+3.5%)10(=) 2020-05-04361(+1.1%)10(=) 2020-05-05367(+1.7%)10(=) 2020-05-06379(+3.3%)10(=) 2020-05-07381(+0.53%)10(=) 2020-05-08388(+1.8%)10(=) 2020-05-09402(+3.6%)10(=) 2020-05-10414(+3%)10(=) 2020-05-11422(+1.9%)10(=) 2020-05-12423(+0.24%)10(=) 2020-05-13440(+4%)10(=) 2020-05-14455(+3.4%)10(=) 2020-05-15459(+0.88%)10(=) 2020-05-16504(+9.8%)10(=) 2020-05-17541(+7.3%)10(=) 2020-05-18618(+14%)10(=) 2020-05-19749(+21%)10(=) 2020-05-20824(+10%)10(=) 2020-05-21882(+7%)10(=) 2020-05-22944(+7%)10(=) 2020-05-231,010(+7%)10(=) 2020-05-241,121(+11%)10(=) 2020-05-251,177(+5%)10(=) 2020-05-261,211(+2.9%)11(+10%) 2020-05-271,245(+2.8%)11(=) 2020-05-281,327(+6.6%)11(=) 2020-05-291,370(+3.2%)14(+27%) 2020-05-301,459(+6.5%)14(=) 2020-05-311,510(+3.5%)14(=) 2020-06-011,662(+10%)17(+21%) 2020-06-021,819(+9.4%)18(+5.9%) 2020-06-031,952(+7.3%)20(+11%) 2020-06-042,087(+6.9%)20(=) 2020-06-052,145(+2.8%)20(=) 2020-06-062,316(+8%)22(+10%) 2020-06-072,377(+2.6%)22(=) 2020-06-082,473(+4%)22(=) 2020-06-092,632(+6.4%)23(+4.5%) 2020-06-102,738(+4%)23(=) 2020-06-112,814(+2.8%)23(=) 2020-06-122,879(+2.3%)23(=) 2020-06-132,904(+0.87%)24(+4.3%) 2020-06-142,978(+2.5%)25(+4.2%) 2020-06-153,062(+2.8%)26(+4%) 2020-06-163,150(+2.9%)27(+3.8%) 2020-06-173,386(+7.5%)28(+3.7%) 2020-06-183,483(+2.9%)28(=) 2020-06-193,591(+3.1%)30(+7.1%) 2020-06-203,789(+5.5%)33(+10%) 2020-06-213,918(+3.4%)33(=) 2020-06-224,048(+3.3%)35(+6.1%) 2020-06-234,186(+3.4%)35(=) 2020-06-244,365(+4.3%)38(+8.6%) 2020-06-254,563(+4.5%)39(+2.6%) 2020-06-264,779(+4.7%)41(+5.1%) 2020-06-275,130(+7.3%)42(+2.4%) 2020-06-285,297(+3.3%)44(+4.8%) 2020-06-295,530(+4.4%)48(+9.1%) 2020-06-305,832(+5.5%)51(+6.2%) 2020-07-016,062(+3.9%)54(+5.9%) 2020-07-026,273(+3.5%)57(+5.6%) 2020-07-036,537(+4.2%)59(+3.5%) 2020-07-046,750(+3.3%)62(+5.1%) 2020-07-057,169(+6.2%)64(+3.2%) 2020-07-067,411(+3.4%)68(+6.2%) 2020-07-077,693(+3.8%)71(+4.4%) 2020-07-088,010(+4.1%)75(+5.6%) 2020-07-098,372(+4.5%)80(+6.7%) 2020-07-108,803(+5.1%)83(+3.8%) 2020-07-119,178(+4.3%)85(+2.4%) 2020-07-129,465(+3.1%)89(+4.7%) 2020-07-139,707(+2.6%)93(+4.5%) 2020-07-1410,010(+3.1%)96(+3.2%) 2020-07-1510,428(+4.2%)100(+4.2%) 2020-07-1610,854(+4.1%)104(+4%) 2020-07-1711,191(+3.1%)107(+2.9%) 2020-07-1811,483(+2.6%)110(+2.8%) 2020-07-1911,891(+3.6%)112(+1.8%) 2020-07-2012,334(+3.7%)116(+3.6%) 2020-07-2112,774(+3.6%)120(+3.4%) 2020-07-2213,164(+3.1%)124(+3.3%) 2020-07-2313,613(+3.4%)129(+4%) 2020-07-2414,263(+4.8%)134(+3.9%) 2020-07-2514,929(+4.7%)138(+3%) 2020-07-2615,463(+3.6%)142(+2.9%) 2020-07-2715,988(+3.4%)146(+2.8%) 2020-07-2816,571(+3.6%)151(+3.4%) 2020-07-2917,158(+3.5%)156(+3.3%) 2020-07-3017,860(+4.1%)158(+1.3%) 2020-07-3118,574(+4%)164(+3.8%) 2020-08-0119,443(+4.7%)169(+3%) 2020-08-0220,206(+3.9%)174(+3%) 2020-08-0320,754(+2.7%)180(+3.4%) 2020-08-0421,438(+3.3%)187(+3.9%) 2020-08-0522,299(+4%)195(+4.3%) 2020-08-0623,280(+4.4%)202(+3.6%) 2020-08-0724,166(+3.8%)208(+3%) 2020-08-0824,961(+3.3%)215(+3.4%) 2020-08-0925,805(+3.4%)223(+3.7%) 2020-08-1026,800(+3.9%)229(+2.7%) 2020-08-1127,938(+4.2%)238(+3.9%) 2020-08-1229,088(+4.1%)247(+3.8%) 2020-08-1330,369(+4.4%)259(+4.9%) 2020-08-1431,381(+3.3%)266(+2.7%) 2020-08-1532,607(+3.9%)276(+3.8%) 2020-08-1633,755(+3.5%)281(+1.8%) 2020-08-1734,802(+3.1%)288(+2.5%) 2020-08-1835,697(+2.6%)297(+3.1%) 2020-08-1936,868(+3.3%)303(+2%) 2020-08-2037,567(+1.9%)311(+2.6%) 2020-08-2138,188(+1.7%)317(+1.9%) 2020-08-2238,957(+2%)323(+1.9%) 2020-08-2339,564(+1.6%)329(+1.9%) 2020-08-2440,338(+2%)337(+2.4%) 2020-08-2541,158(+2%)343(+1.8%) 2020-08-2641,965(+2%)351(+2.3%) 2020-08-2742,898(+2.2%)358(+2%) 2020-08-2843,879(+2.3%)366(+2.2%) 2020-08-2944,946(+2.4%)375(+2.5%) 2020-08-3045,868(+2.1%)381(+1.6%) 2020-08-3146,728(+1.9%)386(+1.3%) 2020-09-0147,756(+2.2%)391(+1.3%) 2020-09-0248,883(+2.4%)398(+1.8%) 2020-09-0349,877(+2%)402(+1%) 2020-09-0450,973(+2.2%)412(+2.5%) 2020-09-0552,165(+2.3%)420(+1.9%) 2020-09-0653,289(+2.2%)428(+1.9%) 2020-09-0754,350(+2%)436(+1.9%) 2020-09-0855,563(+2.2%)444(+1.8%) 2020-09-0956,571(+1.8%)452(+1.8%) 2020-09-1057,823(+2.2%)460(+1.8%) 2020-09-1158,663(+1.5%)468(+1.7%) 2020-09-1259,630(+1.6%)477(+1.9%) 2020-09-1360,540(+1.5%)485(+1.7%) 2020-09-1461,569(+1.7%)494(+1.9%) 2020-09-1562,655(+1.8%)502(+1.6%) 2020-09-1663,416(+1.2%)511(+1.8%) 2020-09-1764,284(+1.4%)520(+1.8%) 2020-09-1865,154(+1.4%)530(+1.9%) 2020-09-1965,949(+1.2%)539(+1.7%) 2020-09-2066,656(+1.1%)547(+1.5%) 2020-09-2167,443(+1.2%)555(+1.5%) 2020-09-2268,453(+1.5%)564(+1.6%) 2020-09-2369,439(+1.4%)574(+1.8%) 2020-09-2470,406(+1.4%)581(+1.2%) 2020-09-2571,273(+1.2%)591(+1.7%) 2020-09-2671,940(+0.94%)600(+1.5%) 2020-09-2772,691(+1%)606(+1%) 2020-09-2873,528(+1.2%)614(+1.3%) 2020-09-2974,363(+1.1%)623(+1.5%) 2020-09-3075,122(+1%)628(+0.8%) 2020-10-0176,029(+1.2%)635(+1.1%) 2020-10-0276,820(+1%)643(+1.3%) 2020-10-0377,646(+1.1%)649(+0.93%) 2020-10-0478,434(+1%)653(+0.62%) 2020-10-0579,117(+0.87%)658(+0.77%) 2020-10-0679,767(+0.82%)665(+1.1%) 2020-10-0780,404(+0.8%)671(+0.9%) 2020-10-0881,019(+0.76%)678(+1%) 2020-10-0981,696(+0.84%)684(+0.88%) 2020-10-1082,453(+0.93%)691(+1%) 2020-10-1183,137(+0.83%)697(+0.87%) 2020-10-1283,756(+0.74%)704(+1%) 2020-10-1384,391(+0.76%)710(+0.85%) 2020-10-1485,005(+0.73%)714(+0.56%) 2020-10-1585,469(+0.55%)720(+0.84%) 2020-10-1685,758(+0.34%)725(+0.69%) 2020-10-1786,289(+0.62%)731(+0.83%) 2020-10-1886,636(+0.4%)736(+0.68%) 2020-10-1987,161(+0.61%)741(+0.68%) 2020-10-2087,644(+0.55%)747(+0.81%) 2020-10-2188,035(+0.45%)753(+0.8%) 2020-10-2288,416(+0.43%)759(+0.8%) 2020-10-2388,718(+0.34%)764(+0.66%) 2020-10-2489,142(+0.48%)770(+0.79%) 2020-10-2589,565(+0.47%)773(+0.39%) 2020-10-2690,047(+0.54%)777(+0.52%) 2020-10-2790,400(+0.39%)780(+0.39%) 2020-10-2890,876(+0.53%)784(+0.51%) 2020-10-2991,280(+0.44%)789(+0.64%) 2020-10-3091,589(+0.34%)793(+0.51%) 2020-10-3192,013(+0.46%)798(+0.63%) 2020-11-0192,325(+0.34%)801(+0.38%) 2020-11-0292,705(+0.41%)806(+0.62%) 2020-11-0393,100(+0.43%)810(+0.5%) 2020-11-0493,480(+0.41%)814(+0.49%) 2020-11-0593,921(+0.47%)819(+0.61%) 2020-11-0694,305(+0.41%)821(+0.24%) 2020-11-0794,698(+0.42%)824(+0.37%) 2020-11-0894,883(+0.2%)826(+0.24%) 2020-11-0995,149(+0.28%)830(+0.48%) 2020-11-1095,445(+0.31%)834(+0.48%) 2020-11-1195,750(+0.32%)838(+0.48%) 2020-11-1296,140(+0.41%)841(+0.36%) 2020-11-1396,441(+0.31%)844(+0.36%) 2020-11-1496,933(+0.51%)848(+0.47%) source: bolivarian government of venezuela notes: the recoveries from 21 march to 25 march indicate people without symptoms for at least 5 days, considered as recovered in the official reports casesdeaths march venezuela reported its first official cases of coronavirus disease on 13 march 2020. however, several days earlier a suspected case became controversial due to the state treatment of a whistleblower. on 7 march, fe y alegría reported that a suspicious medical case was registered in zulia: a 31-year-old who was not from venezuela was examined at the pedro iturbe hospital and later transferred to the university hospital of maracaibo. the patient had apparent symptoms and was discharged days later. the state governor, omar prieto, asked the public ministry to investigate a university of zulia professor, freddy pachano, for bringing attention to the suspected case in the state, and the ngo espacio público condemned prieto for ordering such an investigation. nicolás maduro declared a ban on protests on 12 march before cases were confirmed in venezuela to prevent the spread of the outbreak, as well as a ban on flights from europe and colombia. the first cases, two on 13 march, were registered in the state of miranda. colombian president iván duque closed the border with venezuela effective from the next day. on 14 march, the official number of cases rose by eight (to ten), and had spread across four states (miranda, apure, aragua and cojedes). communication minister jorge rodríguez announced that flights from panama and the dominican republic to the country would be suspended for 30 days, beginning on 15 march. stay-at-home orders were announced on 15 march, when the country registered another seven cases, and introduced the next day across six states and the caracas area. the orders were dubbed "collective quarantine"; there are exceptions for transportation, health, and delivery of food. it was on the first day of the quarantine across six states, 16 march, that argentina's ambassador in venezuela, eduardo porretti, tested positive for the virus, and nicolás maduro announced that sixteen new cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 33. based on this, maduro extended the quarantine to the entire country. when venezuela went into lockdown on 17 march, authorities in brazil partially closed their border with venezuela. brazilian health minister luiz henrique mandetta had urged closure of the border due to venezuela's collapsing health system. venezuelan vice president delcy rodríguez announced three more cases the same day. in the afternoon, a patient that would later test positive for coronavirus fled from a hospital in propatria, in west caracas. on 18 march, delcy rodríguez reported that the numbers of cases had not changed since the previous day. by 21 march, the government reported 70 confirmed cases in the country. economic measures to deal with the consequences of the pandemic were announced on 22 march, along with seven more cases. rent and credit payments were suspended for six months, accompanied by compensation in local currency for property owners and medium-sized businesses. the measures also extended a 2015 policy that prevents companies from firing employees through december 2020. the government said that no household would have their utilities cut off. the government also took over payment of wages for workers in non-essential companies that were not operating during the national emergency and gave workers in the informal sector a one-off social security payment. the first confirmed death from the disease was announced on 26 march. another death was reported the next day. also on 27 march, delcy rodríguez met with prime minister of trinidad and tobago keith rowley, with the meeting focused on the strategy being deployed in both countries to combat the pandemic. there was also controversy on this day when ngo provea revealed that around ninety people coming from cúcuta, colombia, were forcefully isolated on 25 march by the national guard in barqusimeto, lara, without food or proper sanitary conditions. april information minister jorge rodríguez first reported that there were more recoveries than new infections in venezuela on 11 april. delcy rodríguez and nicolás maduro announced an extension of the national quarantine and state of alarm for 30 days. after a sudden rise of the number of cases in margarita island, nicolás maduro announced a curfew the entire state of nueva esparta on 19 april. 41 of the cases at the time, were related to roberto vahlis baseball academy. some of its member had just arrived from dominican republic by plane. a 29-year-old man was killed by two gunshots to the head during riots in upata, bolívar state, caused by food and fuel shortages that were exacerbated by the lockdown since mid-march. the message "murió por hambre" (he died of hunger) was written in chalk besides the pool of blood that he left. colectivos participated in the police operation to repress the riots, who used their motorcycles despite the fuel shortages. at least two people were injured and thirty others were arrested. may delcy rodríguez reported the first cases of covid-19 in amazonas and carabobo on 10 may. that left delta amacuro as the only unaffected state at that moment. nicolás maduro, on 12 may, extended the lockdown for 30 more days. the restrictions to national flights were also extended 30 days by the national aeronautics institute inac (spanish: instituto nacional de aeronáutica civi). the first patient with covid-19 in delta amacuro was reported on 13 may. as of that date, all states of venezuela have reported at least a case of covid-19. mid may, maracaibo reports a major outbreak of cases related to las pulgas, a popular market. the market was closed. after 34 days without a death report, a new deceased by covid-19 was reported on 26 may. june the easing of the lockdown started on 1 june, with gyms and shopping centers opening. schools, courts and bars remain closed. as of 9 june the venezuelan government had reduced re-emigrations to 400 per day, three days a week, a reduction of 80% from previous levels. the state of alarm was extended a third time for an additional month on 12 june. opposition and health care workers in maracaibo announced on the fourth week of june that hospitals in the city were filled and dozens of doctors and nursed were infected. william barrientos, a surgeon and opposition legislator, said that 40 health workers were infected with the virus. a nurse died in the maracaibo military hospital. the authorities enabled 20 small and midsized hotels in maracaibo to treat patients. measures were increased in zulia, caracas and eight other states. july diosdado cabello, vice-president of the united socialist party of venezuela and president of the pro-government constituent national assembly announced he tested positive for covid-19 on 9 july. tareck el aissami, the minister of petroleum and omar prieto, the governor of zulia also tested positive on 10 july. a member of the national constituent assembly and the governor of the capital district, darío vivas tested positive for covid-19 on 19 july. august venezuela minister of communication and information jorge rodríguez tested positive for covid-19 on 13 august. on the same