RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Peru extended the suspension of flights from Europe for another 15 days as a preventive measure to avoid the entry of passengers who may eventually be infected with the new strain of the coronavirus discovered in the United Kingdom the government reported on Wednesday, January 6th.
“The suspension of commercial flights that connect Peru with Europe and that last more than eight hours is extended for 15 days,” said a statement from the Ministry of Transportation.s and Communications (MTC).
“This measure aims to reduce the risks of contagion due to the possible entry into Peruvian territory of people infected with the new variant of Covid-19,” added the MTC.
Peru will comply in this way 30 days with this European measure, from the initial announcement on December 21st.
The suspension does not affect flights that leave Lima for Europe. The airline Air France announced that it was maintaining its flight to Paris from January 8th.
In addition to restricting flights, the government has prohibited the entry of non-resident foreigners in the country who have been in the United Kingdom after the appearance of this variant of the coronavirus.
So far, no case of contagion with the new British or South African strain has been reported, but the Minister of Health, Pilar Mazzetti, did not rule out that this occurs.
“This does not mean that we do not have it, because it is already in Chile and it is very infectious (…) That is why we have to think that we are going to have it in the country,” the minister stressed.
As part of the biosecurity measures, passengers arriving in the country must present the negative result of a PCR test (swab) for Covid-19. Additionally, arriving travelers must keep a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
The South American country is one of the most affected in the region by the pandemic, with more than 37,900 deaths and 1,022,018 infections as of Tuesday.