There are 143 Argentine students stranded in Cancun after the PCR Truchos scandal

After several cases of graduates who returned infected with the coronavirus, still There are 143 that are still stranded in Cancun and “many of them would be positive”, as confirmed by the Foreign Ministry.

“There are 87 boys in one hotel and 56 in another. They’ll stay there until they’re released”, They emphasized TN of the portfolio headed by Felipe Solá, who made a formal request to the Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS), depending on the Ministry of Health of the Government of Mexico, to know “if the laboratories that have the tests are activated ”.

After this presentation, the prosecution of Quintana Roo, the state to which the city of Cancun belongs, ordered in the last hours the closure of the laboratories of Marbú Salud, where the students who returned infected carried out PCRs.

The director of the Federal Commission for Protection and Health Risks (Cofepris), Miguel Ángel Pino, assured that various anomalies had been noted in the documentation and in the equipment during the inspection visit carried out on Tuesday in the facilities of the Marbú laboratories. Salud.

“Staff did not have adequate training and are not even on the list of approved laboratories»Added the director of Cofepris. He also clarified that the controversial lab’s license is pending.

“The students are waiting to take a real test, because in principle there would be a lot of positive points. The Argentine consulate in Mexico is working on the issue, ”he said. TN a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship.

The Government, through the National Directorate of Migration, has extended the complaint lodged with the federal justice to investigate the presentation of false samples of Argentine tourists returning from other countries.

Meanwhile, at Casa Rosada assess the suspension of graduate study trips abroad. And this Thursday, Alberto Fernández agreed with the governors to discourage travel outside the country for non-essential reasons.

For its part, the Interior Ministry denounced the travel agency Moon Travel after the irregularities of young people who returned infected were found. The case is being handled by Federal Judge Sebastián Casanello, who is investigating a “Public action crime for alleged falsification of PCR tests”.

Infected students

In Mexico, the PCR truchos tourism scandal erupted in January, but is now resuming its meaning after the resumption of trips by Argentinian graduates to Cancun.

“It is worrying because abroad we do not know what type of care there is. We know that Mexico has a high number of daily infections and there is no high containment measure. We must trying to avoid that kind of trip, “infectologist Eduardo Lopez said in televised statements.

The specialist, who is part of the group of infectologists advising the government, stressed that there was still no news that those infected new strains in the country.

“We still don’t know if these teens brought the new strains. We don’t have the studies. What I can certify is that If there have been so many infections at once, it is clear that the chinstrap was not used and that there was no respect for social distancing.. There was no care for the teenagers and they surely were all together in poorly ventilated places, ”he explained.

An important fact: from February 17 to this Monday, they are 35 schools that visited Cancun Through one of the travel agencies in charge of the contingents of graduates abroad: Moon Travel.

“For reasons of confidentiality, we cannot say which contingents are still in Cancun. Yes, I can certify that since mid-February, they are 35 schools that traveled“They said of the travel agency itself.

After insisting on the demand to avoid leaving the country, the government ratified that those who do so must “take a compulsory test. PCR negative within 72 hours of shipment“.

In addition, on your arrival in the country “you must make a quarantined for 10 days negative PCR, which is also mandatory “.

The idea of ​​discouraging foreign travel adds to the decision of reduce the frequency of flights who come to the country from abroad.

By administrative decision 219/2021 published in the Official Journal, with the signature of the head of cabinet, Santiago Cafiero; the Minister of the Interior, Eduardo Wado de Pedro; and the Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, it was decided to keep the frequencies of flights from Mexico and Europe reduced to 30% of the capacity and, from now on, this same limit will apply to planes from from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Chile. The restrictions that already existed for arrivals from the United States are increased by 10% and by 20% for those from Brazil.

JPE