MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Entertainment may resume in Uruguay July 5, but travellers face tougher restrictions

Freedoms return coupled with more restrictions on travelers to keep the Delta variant at bay

The Government of Uruguay Friday announced public shows, parties, social events, food courts, cinemas and amateur sports competitions may resume as of July 5, provided they comply with the anticoronavirus protocols in force.

With capacity caps, the return of those activities to Uruguayan life is close to becoming a reality, although movie theatres in Montevideo, Canelones and Maldonado will have to wait until July 15, the authorities have explained.

President Luis Lacalle Pou's decree also specifies: “To prevent the spread of the virus in those who participate in the practice of amateur sports, special protocols established by the Ministry of Public Health must be complied with, regardless of the measures provided for by the National Sports Secretariat within its competence.”

The other restrictive measures currently in force stemming from Decree 90 of March 2021 have been extended until July 4. Public offices of the federal government will thus remain closed with clerks doing home office work except for emergency needs and departmental (provincial) authorities are encouraged to follow suit.

State-run casinos will remain closed as well and those of private ownership have been advised to act accordingly.

Meanwhile, travellers arriving in Uruguay will be required a negative test before departure and yet a new one upon arrival. The tougher measures are to avoid the occurrence of a covid-19 Delta variant case, of which so far none has been detected, unlike in neighbouring countries.

Public Health Minister Daniel Salinas Friday explained that Uruguayan citizens or foreign permanent residents who arrive in Uruguay and who have already received the two doses of the covid vaccine or have contracted the disease recently must present a negative PCR test performed at most 72 hours before departure. In addition, 7 days after the first test, a new PCR study must be performed, at the traveller's expense.

Those who meet these requirements should not keep mandatory quarantine. This applies until July 31 and even for people who have already left the country, said Salinas. However, those who do not wish to take the test must comply with a 14-day lockdown. And for those who have travelled abroad without having been vaccinated quarantine shall be compulsory.

Minister Salinas also pointed out that the vaccines supplied by Uruguay are effective against the Delta variant and assured that, by early July, vaccination of 50% of the population will have been reached.

Uruguay Friday also announced 1,614 new covid-19 cases and 34 deaths, including a 21-year-old girl, leaving the death toll at 5,447 since the outbreak of the pandemic on March 13, 2020.

From that date, 2,742,723 tests have been processed and 363,580 positive cases of Coronavirus have been detected nationwide, of which 337,748 have already fully recovered, while 20,385 cases remain active, 344 of them are in critical care centres.