MONTEVIDEO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2020) The national battle against the coronavirus epidemic cost Paraguay as much as $2 billion, or 5 percent of the GDP, Paraguayan Finance Minister Benigno Lopez told Sputnik.
"The costs we had to cover to fight COVID-19 make up about 5 percent of GDP ... This means about $2 billion," Lopez said.
The minister also noted the pandemic's significant impact on the country's economy, which is now forecast to decline by 2.5-3 percent this year instead of growing by 4 percent.
At the same time, Lopez added that the worst part was over and the economic life in Paraguay was slowly starting to recover. The authorities are optimistic about how the situation in the country will develop in the second half of the year.
According to the Paraguayan Health Ministry's latest update, there is a total of 2,303 COVID-19 cases in the South American country, 19 deaths and 1,108 recoveries.
