Coronavirus in Argentina: what would be the outings of the boys in the City and the Province

Irene Hartmann

04/24/2020 - 13:33

• Clarín.com
• Society

Once a day? Once a week? With chinstrap? By ID number? With brothers or without them? With one parent or both? Could they see friends? Cycling? On skates? On  skate ? Except for those who had to accompany their elders or go shopping directly, some 13 million boys under the age of 17  (taking Indec's projections based on the 2010 census) were locked up more than a month ago by the coronavirus pandemic. It is not difficult to presume that, whether they express it or not, they are "cutting nails" waiting for President Alberto Fernández to announce a relaxation and they can, at least for a while, go out on the sidewalk.

Clarín spoke with authorities from the Autonomous City and the province of Buenos Aires to understand how they would implement the regime of exits of boys and adolescents to the street, if something like this takes shape. 

From the Ministry of Health of the province of Buenos Aires confirmed that "the package of measures is already being assembled according to a kind of traffic light for municipalities ."

The photo from Zaragoza, Spain, opens the question of whether in Argentina more than one boy at a time would be allowed to take to the streets (EFE).

The colors on the map of Buenos Aires (which this newspaper could not access since "it is being designed") indicate less or more circulation of coronaviruses and, consequently, the chances of each district to open the tap for child quarantine.

"The greens are the ones with no cases: about 55 municipalities. Those of yellow color are about 45 municipalities, in general, large cities in the interior of Buenos Aires where up to 15 positive cases of COVID-19 were reported. The reds are all the rest, mainly from the conurbano ”, they detailed.

Obviously, “the ones that could get to enable the boys' outings are the green and yellow ones, the red ones, no . Anyway, it is still being diagrammed ”, they explained from that provincial Health portfolio, and clarified that “ it will depend on what the Nation proposes ” .

Porteños

From the city of Buenos Aires they explained to Clarín that there are still no definitions on an opening of the quarantine of children and adolescents, but they made it clear that, although it is possible that after the (almost certainly) presidential announcement they will loosen the isolation measure a little " The preference is to wait a little longer ."

"There is no definition. In principle we are more on the side of waiting a bit. We have to keep in mind that boys are potential coronavirus vectors . We only have 16 confirmed children under the age of 12, but they usually do not show symptoms, so it is an issue, because they can infect others, ”they detailed from the Buenos Aires Health portfolio.

"Cycling or rollerblading, no," said doctor Pablo Bonvehí, regarding a potential relaxation of the quarantine due to coronavirus (Shutterstock).

When asked what the implementation would be like if the President modified the rigid measure of isolation, they explained that “we have to see how it announces it . Many times, implementation is at the mercy of each district. What matters is how it is written, although it has generally left the decision to the jurisdictions ”.

And it makes sense, they remarked: “Every place has its situation. For example, if you go jogging at the country level, one thing happens in Salta and, here, the forests of Palermo fill up with people in two minutes . You have to see how it could be implemented ”.

Recreational outings

Pablo Bonvehí , infectious medicine doctor, scientific director of the Vacunar Foundation and head of Infectology at CEMIC, is one of the experts who advises the Minister of Health of the Nation, Ginés González García, in the context of the pandemic. Clarín asked him about how the boys could step on the sidewalk for a while in the most innocuous way possible.

“Quarantine is necessary from a public health point of view, and it also proved to be effective. But the psychological and general health aspects of people also have to be considered. Some countries proposed recreational outings . We could adhere if it is seen that the risk of having a greater number of infected does not increase, ”he introduced.

With chinstraps and just walking would be the central guideline for the boys' exit to the street (Shutterstock).

Among the parameters being considered is “ going out with the child for a walk , in peridomiciliary areas : neither public transport, nor entering shops, nor generating crowds. The suggestion was transmitted to the President, but, considering that Argentina is heterogeneous regarding the circulation of the coronavirus, he will give his opinion and determine the regulations with his cabinet. ”

There are chances that the " DNI rule " will be implemented . That is to say, that every day minors are empowered to go out into the street (for a while and in the vicinity of their homes), according to their ID number: “For example, that those with IDs ending in 0 and 1 can today ; tomorrow at 2 and 3, and so on. An alternation to minimize the number of people on the street. " The Buenos Aires Ministry of Health did not rule out this methodology.

Because, added the doctor, “already with the excepted activities many people are being seen on the street. If we add the boys and their parents walking all at the same time, it is an issue. You have to be creative and innovative to think about how to manage outings. "

To my sadnessGuys, that creativity would exclude highly desired activities during these hours. “We are talking about family groups living together; not that there is an exchange between the groups ”, emphasized Bonvehí, when in doubt if friends could be seen , a few meters away. In addition, he added, "we are talking about walking, not about riding a bike or rollerblading and that the boy goes far, out of the control of the adult."

The small circle

Clara Raznosczyk Schejtman, a psychoanalyst specializing in early childhood and a clinic for children and adolescents, as well as a professor at the Faculty of Psychology at the UBA and the University, launched a new paradigm in view of the extension of quarantine. Belgrano.

The expert is watching with interest what other countries are doing “in which they enabled circulation in two or three houses . For example, that each boy choose two houses of friends and circulate through those addresses exclusively. This could eventually include grandparents. Because if the quarantine were two weeks is one thing, but this is going to be very long and can have great consequences on mental health.

What is Coronavirus? How is it spread and what are its symptoms?

For this reason, he remarked that thinking about circulation and discharge routes is key: “Going out for a walk without touching anything, with a mask, without going to a plaza, is fine at first, even for adults, due to related health problems to sedentary lifestyle . But part of the child's development is his socialization ”.

For Raznosczyk Schejtman, "as the quarantine time is so long and the children are so much with their parents, there can be regressions and anguishes ".

Thus, he concluded, “we must find a way to maintain social isolation by generating some reconnection with a certain circle . Of course, the decision is made by sanitarians and not psychologists. They will have to weigh the harmful effects on the general health of the population. "

LGP