Argentina re-opening international flights in August!

[FrankPintor]

The current policy of letting only residents/citizens in and requiring them to quarantine for 14 days is stupid. After 14 days you are free to resume with your life if you have no symptoms. No one tests you. We now know that as much as 50-60% of infected people are asymptomatic. So if you got the virus a few days before you arrive in Argentina and showed no symptoms, chances are you will still be contagious AFTER your quarantine. Places like Australia and NZ where the current policy is "eradication" of the virus, both quarantine and TEST before letting you go.

Nope. I suggest reading this: https://www.who.int/docs/default-so...0402-sitrep-73-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=5ae25bc7_6

"The incubation period for COVID-19, which is the time between exposure to the virus (becoming infected) and symptom onset, is on average 5-6 days, however can be up to 14 days".

You can, in fact, get on with your life after 14 days quarantine without symptoms.

 

[dsp27]

Nope. I suggest reading this: https://www.who.int/docs/default-so...0402-sitrep-73-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=5ae25bc7_6

"The incubation period for COVID-19, which is the time between exposure to the virus (becoming infected) and symptom onset, is on average 5-6 days, however can be up to 14 days".

You can, in fact, get on with your life after 14 days quarantine without symptoms.

Not necessarily. Imagine you get infected the day before you fly to Argentina. Inculcation period 6 days, you get sick but asymptomatic. You will likely be contagious for another 10 days or so. All I m trying to says is that testing before entry is a better — not perfect — way to permit travel. The 14 day quarantine rule was put in place when we really didn’t know much about the virus. We now know that the overwhelming majority of people develop symptoms within a week of exposure OR they never develop symptoms.
Ask people for a negative PCR before they travel and ask them to fill a health declaration. This is what many European countries are doing right now. Not a rocket science.

 

[FrankPintor]

Not necessarily. Imagine you get infected the day before you fly to Argentina. Inculcation period 6 days, you get sick but asymptomatic. You will likely be contagious for another 10 days or so. All I m trying to says is that testing before entry is a better — not perfect — way to permit travel. The 14 day quarantine rule was put in place when we really didn’t know much about the virus. We now know that the overwhelming majority of people develop symptoms within a week of exposure OR they never develop symptoms.
Ask people for a negative PCR before they travel and ask them to fill a health declaration. This is what many European countries are doing right now. Not a rocket science.

OK, I think there's a misunderstanding here. You get infected. Most likely, you'll show symptoms 5-6 days later, but it could be up to 14 days later. After 14 days, you know one way or the other, either you're sick, or not. If not, the WHO says you're done and dusted, they don't believe transmission from truly asymptomatic cases is a major factor.

PCR tests are also not 100% reliable, getting an accurate test depends on correct application, and also on the person having a detectable viral load (which means it may also not detect presymptomatic or asymptomatic cases), so I think you end up in much the same situation as with quarantine.

 

[dsp27]

OK, I think there's a misunderstanding here. You get infected. Most likely, you'll show symptoms 5-6 days later, but it could be up to 14 days later. After 14 days, you know one way or the other, either you're sick, or not. If not, the WHO says you're done and dusted, they don't believe transmission from truly asymptomatic cases is a major factor.

PCR tests are also not 100% reliable, getting an accurate test depends on correct application, and also on the person having a detectable viral load (which means it may also not detect presymptomatic or asymptomatic cases), so I think you end up in much the same situation as with quarantine.

I disagree but ain’t gonna argue. Many European and Asian countries accept a PCR test within 72 Hs in lieu of a quarantine. There is always a chance that someone will slip thru but the risk is measured granted that the policy is containment and not eradication. It’s a cost benefit analysis.

 

[Renzi]

In the case of AR (where the only viable option is virus contagion not eradication) a much sounder policy would be to allow all flights and tourists and left the demand dictate the frequency and capacity. Require tourist to present a negative PCR test within 72 hours of traveling to AR and a valid health insurance for the duration of the trip. It's so simple and in my mind a more effective way to minimize chance of spreading Covid-19 AND open up the country.

Even if something like this is implemented, as much as I agree with it, there's no guarantee that tourists would be willing to go through such a convoluted process when they can simply postpone their holiday. Many Caribbean countries have "opened-up" but with so many restrictions, some going as far as to require a deposit payment upon entry, that it hardly seems worth the trouble.

For the sake of comparison, tourism as a share of GDP in ARG is around 10%, but in a country like Barbados, it's 34%. In other words, Barbados doesn't really have a choice about opening up because their economy depends on tourism, and Argentina has doesn't have the same incentive. Even then, they have strict protocols and mandatory screening for every visitor, and visitors from the US (their greatest market share) are still subject to mandatory quarantine and additional testing upon arrival, even with a valid negative COVID-19 PCR test result.

 

[Rich One]

The current policy of letting only residents/citizens in and requiring them to quarantine for 14 days is stupid. After 14 days you are free to resume with your life if you have no symptoms. No one tests you. We now know that as much as 50-60% of infected people are asymptomatic. So if you got the virus a few days before you arrive in Argentina and showed no symptoms, chances are you will still be contagious AFTER your quarantine. Places like Australia and NZ where the current policy is "eradication" of the virus, both quarantine and TEST before letting you go.

In the case of AR (where the only viable option is virus contagion not eradication) a much sounder policy would be to allow all flights and tourists and left the demand dictate the frequency and capacity. Require tourist to present a negative PCR test within 72 hours of traveling to AR and a valid health insurance for the duration of the trip. It's so simple and in my mind a more effective way to minimize chance of spreading Covid-19 AND open up the country.

Until the Vaccine appears and is available here ? We will all get infected, some of us may survive.. Good Luck..!
?

 

[antipodean]

Another thing to think about is who wants to visit us right now and is willing to accept the personal risk, and as always who will have us.

Holiday in Brazil tomorrow, anyone? Well it may surprise you to know that it now seems AMBA has more daily cases and deaths on average than the state of Río de Janeiro in recent weeks. We are hardly any better at this point in time in terms of appeal.

Already at this stage, Air Canada have pushed flights to EZE back to October. Emirates indefinitely suspend EZE. Turkish, Ethiopian and Lufthansa still have no firm dates in mind to actually resume services. No one is in a rush to get back here even if border controls were lifted on 01SEP. Argentina is a super long flight from most places and the economics of that makes flying half empty planes very challenging indeed - a market that at this moment is not considered worth competing over by many companies and better off just leaving it to a few of the braver ones.

 

[jblaze5779]

For one I would like to get my wife back with me in the country. She was about to start the residency process right before the covid things happened. She isn't a regular tourist. We have a residence here... And she's married to a resident.

 

[antipodean]

For one I would like to get my wife back with me in the country. She was about to start the residency process right before the covid things happened. She isn't a regular tourist. We have a residence here... And she's married to a resident.

If she has residency here then she can use the AR or Eastern flights from MIA or the AR flights from JFK. Perhaps the application process could be taken care of at her nearest consulate given the circumstances?

 

[jantango]

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