Alert on Argentina’s border with Brazil: Experts warn that much of the fight against the coronavirus is at stake

Ezeiza Airport is the only safe broker which concentrates all contact with the exterior. But Argentina’s porous borders with Brazil Yes Paraguay has become the real Achilles heel in the fight against the pandemic, notably through the new coronavirus strains They are wreaking havoc and virtual collapse of the health system in both countries.

Three renowned infectologists –Hugo pizzi, adviser to the national government and the provinces of Cordoba and La Rioja; Gabriel Levy, head of the infectology department of the “Carlos Durand” hospital, and Martin hojman, a staff doctor from the General Hospital of Agudos “Bernardino Rivadavia” and a member of the Argentinian Society of Infectious Diseases – met with TN.com.ar and they agreed on the urgent need to extreme checks in the north of the country.

For specialists, the total closure of borders should be the last option.

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“There is no doubt that the border is a time bomb», He warned Lace and he said that “the serious problem that exists is the indisputable fact that Argentina’s borders are very porous”.

“There are even rivers that can be crossed by canoe and that gave us a lot of problems. It’s a very complicated situation, ”he warned.

As an example, the specialist mentioned the vast expanses of the Paraguay River that divide the province of Formosa with the neighboring country. “I am very concerned about this area because people are constantly smuggled in and come and go” beyond the measures challenged by Governor Gildo Insfrán.

The same situation is repeated in the Bermejo River, on the border with Bolivia, where this week at least four people died when two inflatable boats were wrecked. Two babies have since disappeared.

“The same is happening with the dry borders with Brazil. We will have to take all precautions. If new changes suddenly occur, it will be a very delicate situation, ”added Pizzi.

The Cordoba infectologist, who also advises the Peruvian government on epidemiological issues, was in favor of the analysis of a total closure of borders and, in any case, weigh the situation as time goes on and the cold begins to arrive. “Many first world countries have done it. The ideal is to do something very flexible, close, open, evaluate and see if I can open or close again, ”he explained.

“It’s a very big challenge, basically when we are on a slow path to resolving” the pandemic, he said. “In Brazil, there are more than 7,000 Argentinian tourists,” he explained.

What the government says about borders

The government of Alberto Fernández is studying different alternatives to strengthen controls, but today the border looks like a worn network with huge holes that open the entry of new vines into the country.

The National Director of Migration, Florence carignano, said different options are being explored to strengthen border controls to delay the arrival of new variants of the coronavirus as much as possible and asserted that “There are around 7,500 Argentines who have gone to Brazil and have not yet returned”.

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“The land border is closed with all countries. The only safe broker is Ezeiza“Said in Uncover radio. And he added: “There is still no decision” taken on possible flight restrictions. “The different options are proposed to the president,” said Alberto Fernández.

The epidemiological situation in Brazil and Paraguay is getting more complicated every day with new death registers and a health system that has already collapsed in some states in southern Brazil or is about to do so in Paraguay.

What is the risk of a second wave

Gabriel Levy, in turn, said to TN.com.ar that “border controls should be strengthened and caution should be maintained. There should be no way to get into the country without rubbing. The barrier of testing must be insurmountable, ”he stressed.

The specialist said “closing the borders would be the last option”. Previously, he stressed, the cordon sanitaire should be reinforced so that no one encroaches on the controls.

Gabriel Levy, infectologist

The test barrier must be insurmountable

And he said: “Although we are in a moment of certain calm more resistant variants of the virus could arrive and appear more cases. If the contagions worsen, then yes, the border should be closed.

Meanwhile, the infectologist Martin hojman He said that at least “there should be tighter control”. “The situation is starting to get complicated in these areas. There is a risk of spreading more contagious strains, ”he stressed.

But “I don’t know if it is possible to do it at this stage,” he warned.

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And I add: “I think it might be late. Entry and exit should be restricted to any location abroad. All controls should be a little tighter because the situation is getting more and more complicated “in neighboring countries and” the risk of a second wave is tangible “.

Martín Hojman, infectologist

I think it might be late

For Hojman, “it is inevitable that there will be a second wave“From the pandemic, but we must” see how it goes. There will likely be an increase in cases when the cold starts. We have to see if we have learned what to do and if people are ready to do it to avoid the collapse of the health care system, ”he concluded.