The Government decided to deepen border control measures through a decree that prohibits for a period of 30 days the entry to the country of foreigners who have visited or transited the countries most affected by the coronavirus in the last 14 days, as well as several countries of the world, including Israel and Italy.
The resolution of the Ministry of Health also clarifies that the term of validity of the limitation for non-residents, which until now is one month, "may be shortened or extended according to the evolution of the epidemiological situation." So far there are 45 confirmed cases in Argentina, three of which were discharged and two deceased patients. This Saturday was the day with the most new positive cases.
The National Migration Directorate may also, as established by the new provisions of the portfolio that Ginés González García and the Ministry of the Interior conduct, "establish exceptions in order to attend to duly founded circumstances of need."
The measure, published this Saturday night in the Official Gazette, seeks to broaden the scope of the presidential decree presented this week to confront the advance of the Covid-19 virus that declared a health emergency throughout Argentina for a period of one year, It temporarily suspended international flights from affected areas for 30 days and established a mandatory 14-day quarantine for Argentines and foreigners arriving from affected areas, to avoid contagion.
"We will be very strict in monitoring the movements of people on our borders," President Alberto Fernández had warned during the national network last Thursday.
From the Casa Rosada they explained to Infobae that the closure of the 160 Argentine border crossings - which in total has 237 legal border crossings - would only be implemented for people and not for merchandise, to avoid a greater impact of the pandemic in the economy.
The border crossing of Iguazú, in the province of Misiones, is, after the Ezeiza airport, the one that receives the most people, making it one of the most difficult points. That was another of the topics evaluated by Alberto Fernández together with the interior and security ministers at the meeting in which the topic was analyzed more rigorously and its impact was evaluated.
For this reason, the ministers Wado De Pedro and Sabina Frederic moved this Friday to the Iguazú pass along with the governor of Misiones, Oscar Herrera Ahuad, for a visit to inspect compliance with protocols and supervise the work of the National Gendarmerie, which is the federal force with jurisdiction at border crossings. The reinforcement of staffing was also analyzed to guarantee greater agility in the sanitary procedures to control the entry of people.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor also published a new decree through which it repealed two resolutions dated March 6 and 10. The new text informs about the suspension of the "duty of assistance to the workplace, with full enjoyment of their remuneration, to all workers" who are in the situations described in article 7 of DNU No. 260, who must communicate said circumstance to the employer in a reliable and detailed manner within a maximum period of 48 hours. The new measure also establishes new provisions around other responsibilities of employees and employers, for example in the case of telework (or home office).
In parallel, the Ministry of Education of the Nation evaluates the suspension of classes in primary and secondary schools throughout the country, in line with the Protocol for action in schools against suspected or confirmed cases and resolution 104/2020, intended to the universities, which advises limiting the number of class participants to 50 percent of the capacity of the classrooms, the transitory implementation of virtual teaching modalities, and the reprogramming of the academic calendar, among other alternatives.
So far, widespread isolation measures in countries where the epidemic is at a more advanced stage than ours, have proven to be the most effective in slowing the progression of the virus.
The final decision will be in the hands of the provincial Education portfolios; some of them, such as Misiones, Chaco and Jujuy, have already moved forward, ordering the suspension of classes at the primary and secondary levels.
In the midst of uncertainty about the economic consequences of the coronavirus, Alberto Fernández also ordered the head of the Palacio de Hacienda to prepare a package of emergency measures to deal with the effects of the sanitary crisis in Argentina that preserve the income levels of the workers, sustain -at least- current consumption rates, benefit investments for small and medium industries and reduce the tax burden to encourage local production.