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One day after asking the population to obey the epidemiological restrictions, the top-level official attended a party in which all health protocols were broken.
Paraguay's Health Health Vice Minister Carlos Portillo Sunday resigned after a video posted on social networks evidenced his participation in a party in which all COVID-19 protocols were not observed.
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"I have made a mistake and I assume the consequences of my actions... I apologize to the citizens for the wrong message I have conveyed," Portillo said.
The video showed Portillo, his sentimental couple Magali Caballero, and a group of people at an event where the prevention rules were not followed at all.
"He did not resign because he felt pressure, but because he needed to have peace of mind. Those who were filmed at the event are from the same social circle as we have been sharing social and work activities for a long time," Caballero explained.
Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, former President of #Paraguay, marries off his daughter in Asuncion, in the middle of #COVID-19 Pandemic. Check out the social distancing & mask wearing, Paraguayan-style... pic.twitter.com/RNsM80X0GS
— Prof. Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) August 16, 2020
Health Minister Julio Mazzoleni reported that he accepted Portillo's resignation as this scandal strongly affected his ministry. The event happened precisely on the first day it imposed total social quarantine in Asuncion, Paraguay’s Capital.
Citizens reacted immediately by questioning Portillo's failure to comply with the measures of social distancing and the use of the face mask, which is something that he had requested from the population just the day before.
The former official was responsible for the general directorates related to the development of health services, management of strategic health inputs, and health programs.
As of Monday morning, Paraguay had reported 13,233 COVID-19 cases and 205 deaths.
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