No more football, no more tango, no more flights from countries where the epidemic is significant. In Argentina, as in many Latin American countries, the coronavirus is not taken lightly. Faced with the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization on Wednesday March 11, most governments in the region have decided to strike quickly and hard, while the epidemic is still in its infancy, the first case was detected on February 26 in Brazil. As of Thursday, March 12, the number of infections throughout the region was less than 260, and three deaths had been reported.
In a speech on television, the Argentine President, Alberto Fernandez, detailed Thursday evening the content of a decree which suspends for thirty days all international flights from Europe, the United States, Japan, China, from South Korea and Iran. In addition, travelers, tourists or residents, arriving from these countries, will have to stay in the fortnight, and will be liable to prison for six months to two years if refused.
Several Latin American countries have taken similar measures, such as Colombia (9 cases as of Thursday), Chile (33) or Peru (22). Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday announced a one-month suspension of flights from Europe and Colombia, saying that no case of coronavirus has yet been confirmed in the country, while the health system is devastated and could hardly cope with an epidemic. Bolivia, where two cases have been detected, has followed suit.
Suspended activities
Other countries have been even more radical: while El Salvador has not yet registered any contamination, President Nayib Bukele has decreed an outright ban on the entry into the country of any non-resident foreigner and non-diplomat for twenty and one day. Salvadorans returning from a country affected by the epidemic will have to respect a month's confinement.
But the region does not just barricade itself. In Argentina, people over 65 are invited to stay at home. This includes seven members of the government, including the country's vice president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, 67. The city of Buenos Aires has halved the capacity of churches, temples, theaters, and other venues for cultural events, to a maximum of 200 people. Activities in museums, public and private, city-owned theaters and nightclubs have been suspended.
