Since December 8, all people who enter the City or who return from a trip for more than four days more than 150 kilometers away, have to take a test for coronavirus within 72 hours of their arrival. The only way to fulfill that obligation is to be proactive and take the turn while traveling or even earlier. The centers where the tests are carried out work at 100% of their capacity and they give shifts a week late.
Until this Thursday there were six centers for tourists and travelers to take control. From this Friday one more is added, in La Rural. You can choose between two tests: the saliva test or the antigen test, which is a quick swab whose results are available 20 minutes later.
In almost 40 days, the City tested 172,377 tourists and residents who returned from vacation. Of this total, 2,481 cases tested positive, with a cumulative positivity rate of 1.54.
The Buenos Aires government’s strategy is to detect sick people and isolate them to stop the spread of the coronavirus, more in the context of a new sustained rise in cases. Similar numbers are being recorded in Buenos Aires to those of August, when the first peak of infections occurred.
The lines to enter the Costa Salguero test center. Photo Guillermo Rodríguez Adami
Testing of the people who enter the City, whether they are residents returning from vacation or tourists, is part of that strategy. The problem is that shifts are being delivered with delays of up to a week. And many tourists and neighbors complain that many days pass until the results are delivered. From the City they confirmed Clarion delays.
In the Buenos Aires government they assure that the centers are working at 100% of their capacities. In the operative about 265 people participate, between doctors, nurses, biochemists, coordinators and administrators. To lower the impact of the delay, this Friday a new headquarters is enabled in the Rural, which will be exclusively for vehicles. It is added to those located in the Ezeiza airport, in the Dellepiane bus terminal, in Callao at 600, in the Munich Building, in Costa Salguero and next to the Law School of the UBA.
In the exclusive testing centers for people who go by vehicle, it is not necessary to get out of the car. Photo Luciano Thieberger
According to official information, in Dellepiane The tests are done at the time of the arrival of the buses. However, the center located there is not always operational. A neighbor from Palermo told Clarion his experience: “I spent a few days in Villa Gesell and arrived in Dellepiane on Sunday at 5. There was no one at the testing center, only a City employee who owes you a photocopy with directions to take the shift and test you. on the web and put as an option the possibility of going to any of the testing centers. The first shift was for the following Sunday“said Romina, incredulous.
The little piece of paper that Romina was given at Dellepiane clarifies: “You have 72 hours to do it”. This neighbor looked for a turn at any of the centers, because she was willing to go by car to be able to test herself, either in an Uber or with a friend who could drive her. Finally he didn’t. “I understood that it did not make sense, so I gave up,” he lamented.
Rapid swabs or antigen testing at the Dellepiane terminal. Results are in 20 minutes. But some travelers find that the testing center is closed at certain times. Photo Germán García Adrasti
This is one of the many cases of neighbors who found it difficult to carry out this control. Is it mandatory? At first, the Buenos Aires government had reported that yes, they were going to send messages to residents whose cell phones had not been captured by City antennas within 72 hours. Faced with the infeasibility of the idea, the authorities decided appeal to individual responsibility of people, “that they should be aware of the importance of going for the test as soon as they return from their trips,” they explained. They aim for neighbors to understand that detecting the coronavirus in time will prevent a chain of infections. They also hope that people will see in these tests an opportunity to question whether they have the virus.
In the City’s social networks, residents not only complain about delays in finding an appointment, but also complain that they take a long time to report the results. Two, three and up to four days.
Soledad is a neighbor of Villa Crespo and also told Clarion his experience: “I arrived in Buenos Aires on Sunday night, so two days before I returned, I went to the web to look for a shift. The first thing I found was in Balvanera for the following Saturday, almost a week later. On Monday night I started with symptoms, on Wednesday they swabbed me from my prepaid and finally I tested positive for Covid. Even being informed of how everything was, I should have anticipated even more. I think the system fails in this regard, in the delays, “he reflected. That is why Soledad recommended to all her friends who are traveling to take shifts many days in advance.
The Dellepiane terminal testing center has several checkpoints. Photo Germán García Adrasti
The question is what would have happened if Soledad had not developed symptoms and had not been tested through her prepaid. Because it is very possible that during the six days until the shift he had in Balvanera, he would have circulated through the City and infected other people.
Claudio, another Palermo neighbor, said that on Wednesday at Dellepiane the system was down. “They told all the passengers to ask for turns on the web. I was already alerted about the delays so I preferred to wait at the place. I stood, and since they realized that I was not going to loosen, in the end they swabbed me and took the data manually. “Then he waited in a side sector. Half an hour later, a person with a megaphone announced the names and test results.
According to the City’s data, the diagnostic tests by PCR and antigens that are carried out in these controls, tripled the number of tests that had been carried out in the City. It is estimated that 82% of the people who took the test are residents.
At the Ezeiza airport there is also a testing center that depends on the City Government. Photo Guillermo Rodríguez Adami
What are the testing centers
- Building of the former Munich confectionery (Av. De los Italianos 851, Costanera Sur). With shift, Monday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Callao 628, with shift, from Monday to Sunday from 9 to 19.
- Costa Salguero, with shift, every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the peak replacement days of the fortnight, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (from January 15 to 20). Exclusive for vehicle service.
- Parking Beach attached to the Faculty of Law: entrance through Avenida Figueroa Alcorta and Julio Víctor González. From Monday to Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., with shift. This center is also for vehicles.
- Pabellón Ocre de la Rural: entrance by Sarmiento 2704. From Monday to Sunday from 8 to 20. You can only go by vehicle.
- Terminal Dellepiane. It is to do the test to those who arrive by bus, at the time of their arrival.
- Ezeiza Airport. It began operating on December 15 for national and international tourists and for residents of the City who arrive by plane. Serves 24 hours.
Who should be tested
Testing is required for non-residents who stay at least one day in the City and arrive from more than 150 kilometers. Also, for Buenos Aires residents who return from a trip over 150 kilometers after more than 4 days. Only those over 12 years of age should do it.
The procedure
An affidavit must be completed online at turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/RequisitosTuristas. It can be done before leaving. The term to do the test is up to 72 hours after entering the City.
For those who arrive in private vehicles or other means, it is necessary to take an appointment at the centers, which also it is managed online. It should be done before making the trip in order to meet the deadlines. It is one turn per cohabiting group.
For those who arrive by plane or by bus, according to the Buenos Aires government, the test is done inside the corresponding terminal and without a previous turn.
The tests are free for the passenger. They will be covered by social works and medical insurance or by the City Government. Residents of other countries must pay $ 2,500.
NS
.
source https://pledgetimes.com/coronavirus-tests-on-travelers-entering-the-city-they-give-shifts-a-week-late/
Disqus comments