MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina ups restrictions on travellers from abroad

Tests and isolation housing shall be at the traveller's expense

The Government of Argentina has decided to up its restriction on inbound travelers as of Saturday, in a move to prevent further cases of the SARS-Cov-2 Delta variant from entering the country.

As per the new measures, a maximum of 600 daily passengers will be allowed through the Ezeiza international airport in Buenos Aires and they will be subject to mandatory isolation in places determined by the governments of either the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) or the Province of Buenos Aires (PBA).

Up until Friday, a daily average of 2000 passengers entered the country.

Those who return from abroad between July 1 and August 31 will have to be confined at their own expense for 10 days from the test carried out in the country of origin at facilities such as hotels determined by the PBA and CABA health authorities.

The Government has also announced further controls are to be carried out to ensure those who are observing mandatory quarantines at their homes do comply or face criminal charges punishable by imprisonment of up to two years.

Travelers will have to undergo a test to be able to board the plane bound for Argentina. In addition, they must be retested upon arrival in the country and, once again, on the seventh day after entry.

Those who are negative upon entering the country must comply with the isolation at their designated places and must take a new test before being released.

Those who are positive, upon entering the country must carry out another genomic sequencing test and, together with their close contacts, carry out isolation in the places indicated by the national authorities, until their safe transfer to residence, if applicable. In those cases, travelers shall be required to state their whereabouts for the past 14 days prior to re-entry to the country.

As with stays in places of isolation, tests must be paid for by the passenger.

Health Minister Carla Vizzotti recommended avoiding trips abroad, particularly of groups, be them for recretational, academical or social reasons.

For passengers arriving through land crossings, provincial jurisdictions must provide safe corridors. Even non-resident foreigners who enter to perform essential jobs must now comply with mandatory quarantines, it was announced.