Bolivia VP, 6 cabinet ministers infected with coronavirus

Bolivia’s government says its vice president and six cabinet ministers have tested positive for the coronavirus and are in isolation

Virus Outbreak Bolivia (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Bolivia's vice president and six cabinet ministers have tested positive for the coronavirus and are in isolation, the government said Tuesday.

The infection for Vice President David Choquehuanca came a week after he had received his first dose of an anti-COVID-19 vaccine. He had been widely criticized for waiting so long to get a shot.

The Ministry of the President said others testing positive were ministers of the interior, Eduardo del Castillo; defense, Edmundo Novillo; foreign relations, Rogelio Mayta; education, Edgar Pari; justice, Iván Lima, and planning, Gabriela Mendoza.

As in much of Latin America confirmed COVID-19 cases have been rising sharply in Bolivia. Officials reported 3,550 new cases on Jan. 1 and 11,190 a week later.

That has prompted officials to cancel mass gatherings in the country of 11.6 million people.