![Employees work in a pizza shop as TV announces 97 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Buenos Aires](https://freeamericanetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/argentina-april-economic-activity-plunges-26-4-stats-agency.jpg)
FILE PHOTO: Employees work in a pizza shop as TV announces 97 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
June 29, 2020
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s economic activity plunged 26.4% in April, the country’s official statistics agency said on Monday, the first full month after the South American grains producer imposed a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The monthly drop was worse than a 21% decline analysts polled by Reuters predicted. Argentina, which imposed a lockdown from March 20, has extended the quarantine in and around capital Buenos Aires after a sharp recent rise in COVID-19 cases.
(Reporting by Jorge Iorio; Writing by Adam Jourdan)