María Daniela Araujo Padrón
03/10/2020 - 17:57
- Clarín.com
- Society
At Ezeiza airport, between 10 and 12 in the morning on Tuesday, flights arrive from Mendoza, Florianopolis, United States, Brazil, Santiago de Chile and Barcelona. Passenger entry protocols are in the spotlight due to the widespread spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus worldwide.
The new strain that has the scientific world in search of a vaccine already amounts to about 118 thousand cases and 4,264 deaths, although the lethality rate of the disease is around 2% and 65,105 patients have recovered . Nationally, 17 positive cases and one deceased have been counted so far.
In that context, in Ezeiza the controls are random . There are passengers who say they take their fever, others who do not. And others who say they didn't even look at the affidavits.
The situation is not alarming among people either. Many continue to welcome family and friends with hugs and kisses . Few leave the boarding gates or wait for travelers wearing chins.
One of them is Estela, 64. She is waiting for her daughter who comes from Mexico and stopped in Houston before landing in the country. He wears a cloth chinstrap and stands outside the building of the arrival terminal C. "I think they are not doing many protocols, I have received the information that they are not taking the temperature in all cases. And I prefer to prevent." He also says that he keeps another chinstrap in his wallet, "I brought for her to use, just in case," he says.
Border Health personnel receiving medical supplies at the Ezeiza airport (Daniela Araujo)
Rodrigo, in his 30s, comes from Fortaleza, Brazil. He has just landed and confirms that he was made to sign an affidavit and that his temperature was not taken.
Mary is about 60 years old, she came with her husband from Barcelona to visit one of her children, who emigrated from Venezuela several years ago. He tells that the passengers were made to sign an affidavit but that less than half of the passengers on their flight did not sign any documents because the forms were finished . "They (Border Health personnel) are all dressed in face shields, gloves, they are 4 or 5 officials. When the paper ran out, those we did not sign took the temperature before leaving the plane."
Nisha is 32 years old and comes on vacation from England, although he arrived in the country after stopping in Brazil, he stresses that it is not the first time he has come to Buenos Aires. He tells that they did not ask him any questions when he landed but he did sign an affidavit in which he left his data in case they should contact her.
Robert Jason and Arol Kohle are two American friends who arrived on different flights, one from New York and the other from Atlanta and met at the airport to visit Antarctica. They studied at the same university and graduated in Medicine. "We are going to meet more people in Ushuaia," explains Arol. " They didn't take our temperature or sign any documents , they only took our prints and a photo when we entered through Migrations."
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Look at the specialBoth understand the concern of society in general but, as doctors, they also believe that panic about COVID-19 can be counterproductive . "From October until now the common flu killed 52 thousand people, what happens is that since there are no vaccines, people get scared," says Robert.
Resolution 2020-15065168-APN-ME, published jointly by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education on Friday, March 6, points to China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Spain, France and Germany as countries in which there is virus circulation . Therefore, for those who come from there, "it is suggested that they remain at home without concurrence and avoid social contact for 14 days ."
In Bahía Blanca, the first "suspect case" was presented in a 26-year-old boy. The local municipal secretary of Health, Pablo Acrogliano told Clarín : "The patient was not controlled in Ezeiza and upon arrival at the Espora airport he informed those who aspired to the symptoms he suffered, so it was decided to transfer him to the hospital."
The young man, who is still hospitalized, had claimed to have a fever and sore throat, according to Acrogliano. Samples taken from the patient will be sent to the Jara de Mar del Plata laboratory and from there to the Malbrán Institute to confirm or rule out the initial diagnosis.
"Evidently something is failing with the controls (in reference to what happened in Ezeiza) , but the important thing is that it does not happen here and that is why we have detected it in time," said Acrogliano, who was accompanied by the Secretary of Government of the municipality Adrián Jouglard.
Another 40-year-old passenger, who preferred not to give her name, says she arrived in the country on Sunday morning. He came from France but made a stop in Madrid before landing on Argentine soil. "When I arrived in Ezeiza, I saw that they were not warning anything at all. There were only signs of washing their hands well and on the plane, on landing, there was a message from the commander, in which he said that those who passed through China or had any symptoms , let the crew know, "he says. However, it shows concern that these measures are sufficient to control a possible outbreak.
The woman said she called the airline with which she traveled to know about other measures they were taking with the people who were on board, but they replied that the prevention signs and the contact forms were the form they had at the moment .
However, upon arrival on Sunday she did not complete any affidavits . She and her 12-year-old girl, with whom she traveled, are in isolation by choice but are worried that others will not do the same.
Clarín was able to know that the affidavit that travelers must sign when they arrive in the country would no longer be delivered by the airlines but that the Migration staff would have to deliver the form before the trip. This would be communicated in a meeting that the Government will have on Wednesday with the airlines.
Collaborated: Gabriel Bermúdez (Bahía Blanca)
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