Government restricts travel to and from Brazil, will force those returning to pay for the swab

The government continues to take steps to to reinforce border controls and prevent the arrival of the second wave and the circulation of new strains of coronavirus. Ahead of the weekend, President Alberto Fernández will authorize new restrictions on travel to and from abroad. There are more than 27,000 Argentines abroad, according to official data.

At the meeting chaired by Chief of Staff Santiago Cafiero this afternoon at Casa Rosada with his Transport partner, Mario Meoni; the chief of staff of Minister of Health Carla Vizzotti, Sonia Terragona; and the Legal and Technical Secretary, Vilma Ibarra; measures have been taken to discourage travel abroad.

There is a certainty: Argentines returning to the country must pay for the swab and, if they show symptoms, they must be isolated. So far, only certain jurisdictions such as city and province covered them.

In the latest DNU which extended DISPO until April 9, it was agreed to restrict flights from countries in the region, Europe, Mexico and the United States. However, official sources have admitted that the focus will now be on Brazil.

“Work is underway to severely restrict entry from Brazil with drastic restrictions on the frequency of flights from there,” they said in the executive. There are doubts and caution about the aggressive Manaus strain, which has already been recorded in provinces such as Córdoba, although so far there is no community transmission.

Interior Minister Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro did not attend the meeting because he was in Salta, while Vizzotti visited the towns affected by the fires in Lago Puelo. Fernández followed the conversations closely, but after 7:30 p.m. he left Casa Rosada to participate in an event with the head of Aysa Malena Galmarini. He was accompanied by officials of his highest confidence such as Chief Advisor Juan Manuel Olmos, Secretary General of the Presidency Julio Vitobello and Secretary of Communication Juan Pablo Biondi.

“The most important thing is that the measures were set this weekend and the measures will be ready and those who return will have to pay for their tests at the airport. There will be a follow-up of the quarantine in the positive cases and the The objective is to restrict flights from Brazil as much as possible, ”said an official source who was awaiting the meeting.

The challenge, as recognized by the executive, is to effectively implement the measure in terms of “legal, logistical and health”. Meetings will continue in the next few hours.

For this reason, within the executive there are conflicting versions as to whether it will be a DNU or a resolution. On Monday, the interior minister held virtual meetings with the governors of border provinces of other countries, who supported the initiative. Gildo Insfrán, from Formosa, is concerned about the drought on the border with Paraguay, whose health system has collapsed.

In the DNU which regulates the DISPO, the president established new regulations to restrict flights to countries considered to be “risk areas”, although there is no permanent border closure. Argentines and residents will be able to enter the country. Yes, flights to Britain are on hold, and in the coming days ANAC will determine the number of flights and people entering from Europe, the United States, Brazil and Mexico, where the new strains of coronavirus are already circulating.

With this target, it was established that the frequencies of passenger flights to Mexico and Europe will be reduced by 30 percent, and the same percentage of flights to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and the Chile will be reduced. Travel to the United States will also be reduced. Argentines returning from these destinations must also comply with strict isolation, which must be supervised by the courts.

Now the epicenter of Brazil. The number of cases recorded in Argentina on Tuesday – more than 9,000 – as the government seeks to alleviate the shortage of vaccines, forces the executive to further restrict entry into the country.