The Government will restrict flights to countries where the new strains circulate

Guido Carelli Lynch

03/09/2021 21:14

• Clarín.com

• Politics

Updated 03/10/2021 8:12 AM

The Government is on track to

restrict flights to and from the countries with the highest circulation of new strains

of coronavirus in the region

from Friday

.

The bans would include travel to Brazil and the United States, among other destinations.

In addition, they plan to require rigid quarantines to the 7,000 travelers who must return to Argentina from those countries.

The issue was discussed Monday during a new meeting of the Federal Health Council.

On February 28, the decree that prohibits the entry of non-resident foreigners into the country -with exceptions-, through ports, airports, international crossings, border centers and any other access point was extended until next Friday.

Now the measure would be extended to Argentines who visit the new "risk zones."

Buenos Aires minister Daniel Gollan anticipated the battery of measures during a morning press conference together with the provincial chief of Cabinet Carlos Bianco.

"In the decree that must be changed on March 12 with respect to the measures taken to face the pandemic, the decision will be made to strongly restrict the departure of new tourists to the virus circulation areas," explained Gollan .

According to the records of the National Directorate of Migration between December and February, 262,339 people entered the country and 292,466 left.

ANAC sources indicated that there were 39 daily international flights in January and 45 in February.

The head of the Province's Health Portfolio referred to the new variants of coronavirus from

Great Britain and Brazil, of which infections have already been registered in Argentina

, although for now there is no community transmission.

“There is concern about three variants: the South African -which does not circulate as a community in the region-, the English -on which there were 5 detections in our country-, and the Manaus -which is widespread in South America;

Brazil and neighboring countries, but in Argentina the cases were contained, "said Gollan.

To reduce the chances of infections with the new strains, Chief of Staff Santiago Cafiero and President Alberto Fernández will study the proposal of the health authorities to restrict flights to and from Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay, where cases are increasing.

The focus, as anticipated by Axel Kicillof's minister, is also on the Argentines who must return to the country.

"The idea is that there is a very strong control of these people: that they complete ten days of quarantine and have a discharge with PCR or 14 days of quarantine to prevent the virus from spreading in the country," he said.

The issue was addressed at the virtual meeting of ministers from around the country, but Gollan anticipated with his statements, a detail that was not entirely well received at the Casa Rosada.

Health Minister Carla Vizzotti and her provincial counterparts agreed on the need to take restrictive measures.

“There was consensus because there are many strains out there;

especially the P1, the Brazilian.

For this reason, in addition to restricting flights to and from Brazil, there was talk of restricting flights to and from the United States, where the Brazilian strain is already present, but also the English and South African ”, explained one of the ministers who participated in the conclave .

In the Government they indicated that there is still no decision taken.

They emphasized that the administrative channel for these resolutions depends on the chief of staff of the Cabinet.

"As always, the opinion of the health authorities will be heard, also weighing the social humor and the economic reality," they explained at the headquarters of the Executive.

However, the decision already seems made.

In the Ministry of Transport, which must deal with the claims of the sector companies, they were already resigned.

"The sanitary look will always be above," they pointed out.

In the Tourism Portfolio the news was also taken with philosophy.

“Our plans for receptive tourism were not for now.

Whenever we plan the incentive programs they were for the second semester ”, they specified near the minister Matías Lammens.

Vizzotti had a fleeting passage through the Rosada.

The minister did not meet with either the President or Cafiero.

Instead, he met with officials from the Press area, who for now are monitoring the communication of his new administration (and the responses to the opposition's complaints).

At the end of next week the Federal Health Council will meet for the first time in person since the beginning of the pandemic.

The meeting could count on the participation of the President.

After his verbose press conference, Gollan suspended two interviews, as highlighted in the Government.

In the Province they did not confirm those versions, but they put the focus on the City.

“With the vaccination disaster in Capital, it's time to be bystanders,” said a close Kicillof collaborator.