MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayans and residents may return by car even if they are COVID-19 positive

Uruguay does not plan to close its borders again

The Government of Uruguay has announced it would allow foreign residents to return to the country by car even if they are COVID-19 positive.

As per the new presidential Decree, aftter reentering the country, these people must follow regulations regarding isolation, either by themselves or with the family group with which they have traveled.

President Luis Lacalle Pou's Decree mandates that these people may enter “as long as they do so through a private and non-collective means of transport, in which their isolated permanence is guaranteed or, failing that, in conjunction with their family nucleus living together during the trip,” who must then “comply with the social and preventive isolation regime and other health measures in force.”

Uruguay detected 10,650 new infections last Thursday, to add to the 65,665 active cases, of whom 55 are in intensive care centers (ICU).

Uruguay confirmed the arrival of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 Dec. 29. Health Minister Daniel Salinas explained at that time that the authorities were expecting the new strain to behave like it had done in the rest of the world: a highly contagious variant indeed.

Lacalle and Salinas have announced they did not plan to close the borders again, while pediatric vaccination with Pfizer's drug for children aged 5 to 12 started in Uruguay last week.

According to the Health Ministry's website, 2,682,082 people (75.70% of the population) have completed their immunization schedule with Sinovac, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, while 118,759 people have already received the first dose, and 1,621,163 others have taken a booster injection.