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(CNN Spanish) -
The Superior Council of Private Companies (Cosep) and the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur) blamed the sanitary provisions of the Ministry of Health for the coronavirus pandemic due to the delay in the reopening of line operations commercial areas.
Since last July, the government has asked travelers for the negative result of a real-time PCR test for covid-19, carried out in a period no longer than 72 hours before entering the country.
The requirement was extended to airline crew members by order of civil aeronautical authorities.
This Wednesday, the president of Cosep, Michael Healy, asked the Nicaraguan government to review the cost of the coronavirus detection test and make prevention measures more flexible to normalize the operation of airlines in the country.
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“We believe that there should be a review of the high cost in covid testing.
As of January 26, the United States and other countries are demanding that, before entering those countries, (travelers) have to take the covid test.
I traveled to the United States, I came back, the test there cost me US $ 75 to return to my country, but here we are seeing that US $ 150 is being charged. We believe that this cost is too high and the government should analyze it, and be able to make it more accessible to the population, "Healy said during a virtual conference.
Healy asked the government to allow the importation of covid-19 tests to private hospitals, given what it considers a limited number of tests offered by the public health system per day.
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"We understand that they are only allowing about 150 tests a day and what we see is that the airlines that travel to the United States each have 200 passengers," he said.
The Nicaraguan Ministry of Health has not officially reacted to the business union's request.
CNN requested a comment through the Communication and Citizenship Council, coordinated by Vice President Rosario Murillo, but we are still waiting for a response.
So far the only entity that performs coronavirus detection tests is the central laboratory of the Ministry of Health.
The travel agencies Aeromundo, Premiere and Viajes América reported that in January only Avianca and Copa Airlines were operating in Nicaragua.
American Airlines and United Airlines could reestablish flights in February.
Aeromexico postponed its opening of operations in the country until March.
Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines still does not have a start date of operations.
PCR testing in Central America
The cost of COVID-19 screening tests varies from country to country, depending on its type and the entity that performs it, according to a survey with CNN correspondents in Central America.
In El Salvador, the virus detection test costs an average of US $ 160. In Costa Rica, the test costs between US $ 89 and US $ 99 depending on where it is performed, since it can be done in public centers and private.
In Honduras, travelers must perform the test in private laboratories at a cost of US $ 28 for the rapid test and US $ 120 for the PCR.
In Panama, the rapid test is offered for US $ 45 and the PCR for US $ 100. While in Guatemala, the authorities offer the test at the airport at a cost of US $ 25.
National travel agencies such as Aeromundo and Premiere shared information from statements published by the governments of Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, the United States and Canada.
Since January, these countries have requested the negative PCR test for coronavirus to enter their territory.
In the case of Peru and Canada, they also contemplate days of isolation or quarantine.
As of January 19, the Nicaraguan health authorities reported 6,204 cases of covid-19 and 168 deaths from that cause.
In contrast, the independent Covid-19 Citizen Observatory adds 12,404 verified suspected cases and 2,908 deaths as of January 13.