Irene Hartmann
07/20/2021 6:01 AM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 07/20/2021 6:01 AM
It is common to hear travelers complain about the 2,500 pesos of the antigen test in Ezeiza, after having done a pre-flight PCR.
While most of those swabs are negative,
some people “positivize” afterward
, proof that they were incubating Covid-19 on the trip.
In order to delay the circulation of the Delta variant, compliance with a third swab, also mandatory, is highlighted:
the PCR on the seventh day
.
As the control of this test is provincial,
Clarín
spoke with different jurisdictions to test the
follow-up of this measure
.
The idea was to corroborate whether those who perform the 7-day isolation and did not develop symptoms, eventually disregard this last and crucial step, and, conversely, whether those who do not comply with quarantine may “draw” their good behavior by doing PCR time and form.
The conclusion cannot be drawn in other words:
obtaining these data was not an easy task
.
At Ezeiza airport, travelers undergo an antigen test to detect Covid.
Photo Luciano Thieberger
Swabbing on the seventh day for all travelers arriving from abroad has been
mandatory
for almost four months.
It was defined in Administrative Decision 268/202 and has been in
force since March 27
.
At the end of June, the National Directorate of Migration reported that
40% of the new arrivals did not comply with the
one-week
quarantine
.
The increase in controls (and the restriction of arrivals to the country by decree) substantially lowered that figure, which since mid-July has been around half.
Although the differences between jurisdictions are great (in Buenos Aires, 17% of the newcomers did not quarantine; in CABA, 30%), from Migrations they evaluated -in dialogue with this medium- that “equal,
20% of non-compliance is enough
”.
Anyway, nothing has been said about the PCRs on the seventh day.
Bone scan
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, revenues to the country between March 27 and July 18 were
153,808
.
More than 80% were destined for the Province of Buenos Aires (40%), the City of Buenos Aires (31%), Córdoba (5.32%) and Santa Fe (4.80%).
As said, the handling of the PCR on the seventh day is provincial.
Likewise,
Clarín
asked the Ministry of Health of the Nation for a national overview (how many swabs were made, what diagnosis did they have ...) based on the charges of the jurisdictions to the Integrated Argentine Health Information System (
SISA
).
At the end of this note, these data were awaited.
For now, a good summary of the “Delta” panorama was offered by
Julieta de San Félix
, secretary of International Cooperation and Regional Integration of
Santa Fe
: “In the controls, a
high rate of people
who
in the PCR that have to be done on
the seventh day of their arrival they are positive
”.
Swabs for Covid detection in Plaza de Mayo.
AFP photo
For the official, “the danger is that the Delta variant will reach the province.
Over the weekend (
N. de la R .: July 10
),
15
positive cases of the Delta variant
were detected
nationwide.
Of these, 5 were detected in Ezeiza and
the other 10, on the seventh day
.
It means that the virus circulates ”.
Although she reported that out of every 10 post-trip isolates, "only one does not comply," the official did not specify how many PCRs on the seventh day are actually done in Santa Fe.
Metropolitan area
Gabriel Battistella
, Undersecretary of Primary, Ambulatory and Community Care of the City of Buenos Aires, shared with
Clarín
his
confusion
over the confirmation of Migrations that 30% of the quarantines of Buenos Aires travelers are not fulfilled.
"I don't know how they get that data," he clarified.
“People come to Ezeiza and get tested.
If they test positive, they go to the hotel.
If they test negative, they are automatically called and sent an email explaining what to do.
The follow-up, then, is by phone or via WhatsApp.
In more than 90% we have a good correlation
.
People answer, "he said, and clarified:" But if on the third day we have no contact, a visit is made yes or yes. "
As for the PCR on the seventh day, Battistella agreed to send more data to this medium.
He clarified, for now, that
the shift is automatically granted on
the third or fourth day of isolation and that
the positivity of travelers is low
.
"It is
0.8%,
" he confirmed, without specifying the denominator behind the percentage.
In the Province of Buenos Aires they recalled that travelers in their jurisdiction spend four days in a hotel and three at home.
The shift for the PCR on day seven is not scheduled automatically, but the person "has to
test for free at one of the 400 points
in the Province."
In the first 15 days of July (they did not provide previous data), the total income was
22,284
, of which 320 corresponded to confirmed Covid cases (1.56% positivity).
Although in this case they claimed to have registered "
20,483 cases with a sample collection date greater than 7 days
after entering the country,
" they did not provide details on the detection of Covid in those 320 travelers.
Was it on the Ezeiza swab or on the seventh day?
Mendoza, Córdoba and Tucumán
While the Neuquén Health Ministry did not send the requested data, the
Mendoza
Ministry of Health
reported that the PCR is programmed automatically and is free, but they did not provide data on the swabs made so far.
They only reported that "people who have not complied with quarantines touch 11%", since June 29.
In
Córdoba
, on the other hand, they pointed out that “in the last 30 days there was
95% compliance with PCR tests
to obtain discharge.
The remaining 5%, who have not attended their shift, are processing the visit of the brigade at home ”.
They added that "in all the cases in which PCR has been performed,
none were positive
" and stressed that, if it occurred, the sample would be sent for genomic sequencing to the Malbrán institute.
Finally,
Clarín
spoke with
Rossana Chahla
,
Tucumán's
Minister of Health
, who explained that the province
carries out
epidemiological surveillance "intensified at the borders, both by land and by air."
From March 1 to July 13, "
1,366
people
entered from abroad
, mainly from the United States (46%), Spain (11%) and Mexico (8%)." At the end of this note, "1,297 of those people they had completed 10 days of isolation. Of those,
1,189 (91.6%) underwent PCR
. "
The result, however small it may seem, justifies the whole meaning of these lines.
Is that, according to the minister, "
33 people, that is, 2.7%
of swabs on
the seventh day, had a positive result for Covid
."
Seized "in time", they had to
extend the isolation for 14 more days
.
MG
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Controls on travelers returning from abroad: non-compliance with quarantine fell to 13%