The Argentine government announced Thursday evening (25) that flights to and from Brazil, Chile and Mexico would be suspended from Saturday (27) – links with the UK are still cut. The restriction is intended to discourage overseas travel and to try to prevent a second wave of Covid-19 in the country.
With foreign tourism already suspended in the country, the impact will be felt by residents of the country who were traveling abroad or are currently outside Argentina – according to the Clarín newspaper, there are around 27,000 Argentines in the country. foreign.
The measure further strengthens control for those returning from abroad. In addition to presenting a PCR test when boarding, you will have to perform another on arrival in the country and another third, after quarantine of ten days at home. The exams must be paid for by the travelers.
If the result is positive, it will be necessary to isolate 14 days in an establishment chosen by the State, with a stay also covered by the traveler.
The decree establishing the measures further recommends that Argentines and residents of the country not to travel abroad, due to the health situation in the region.
The entry of Brazilians was banned in December by the country, which will keep its land borders closed.
Since mid-February, Argentina has seen an increase in the moving average of cases. This Wednesday (24), the number recorded was 163 infections per million inhabitants, according to Our World in Data.
Targets of the suspensions, Brazil and Chile are the countries with the highest figures, accompanied by a steep curve of the increase in infections – on a moving average, there were 354 and 326 cases per million population respectively Wednesday. The UK and Mexico, meanwhile, recorded 81 and 37 in the moving average of new cases.
In the case of deaths, the situation is different. Brazil is the only one to experience a sharp increase, with a moving average of 11 deaths per million inhabitants on Wednesday. Chile (4) and Mexico (4) have started to show a slight increase, while the United Kingdom (1) is falling and Argentina (2) seems to follow the same trend.