SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said on Sunday that he would postpone the second phase of the country’s economic reopening, slated to begin Tuesday, after evaluating inputs from experts and the Salvadoran health ministry.
Just on Saturday, the president had reiterated his intention to move forward with the next stage of restarting the economy.
“After listening to the opinions of experts and above all, the Ministry of Health … I have decided to suspend Phase 2 of the economic reopening,” Bukele wrote in a post on Twitter.
Bukele and El Salvador’s congress have clashed over how to manage the pandemic. Lawmakers have so far refused to approve a request from Bukele’s government for new emergency measures to restrict the movement of people.
El Salvador has registered a total of 11,846 coronavirus cases and 335 deaths.
(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
