RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With France announcing restrictions on travelers from Brazil on Tuesday, April 13, the country is accumulating entry barriers imposed as a way to try to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic – particularly, the Brazilian variant of the virus- in at least 22 nations, according to a survey based on data from IATA (international air transport association).
Thus, countries like China, for example, which has closed its borders in a more generalized way, are not included in the survey.
People who have been in Brazil for a period of 14 days before traveling are blocked from entering Saudi Arabia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Oman, San Marino, and the Vatican. In the UK, the time limit established as a safety margin is 10 days, but travelers must quarantine on British soil for 11 nights.
In Germany, travelers who have been to Brazil are only allowed to enter if they prove to be among some of the few exceptions to the rules, such as being a relative of a German citizen, for example. Even neighboring Argentina has closed its doors until at least the end of this month to anyone who departing from Brazil.
In Austria, according to IATA, flights from Brazil and South Africa are suspended until at least next Sunday, April 18th, when restrictions also expire in Bangladesh and Peru. On Monday, April 19th, the barrier imposed by France should also fall, and Pakistan’s the following day.
The main concern in these countries is the greater potential for contagion and lethality of the Brazilian coronavirus variants. They are the P.1, originating in Manaus and now dominant in at least six Brazilian states other than Amazonas, and the P.2, of great circulation in Brazil and first identified in Rio de Janeiro.
Besides the Brazilian strains, coronavirus variants have also been identified in the UK, South Africa, and the USA. In general, according to the scientific data gathered so far, these new versions of the coronavirus tend to be more transmissible and appear as a consequence of the uncontrolled pandemic and the high circulation of people – as in Brazil.
The more the virus circulates, the greater the chances of mutations to emerge – some of them facilitate the entry of the virus into cells or prevent the action of neutralizing antibodies.
Thus, although most countries that have imposed restrictions on Brazil have higher transmission rates than Brazil, the measures are justified by the fear that the variants will worsen the health crisis, overloading health systems and increasing the number of deaths.
The transmission rate, also called “R”, indicates how many people, on average, each infected person transmits the virus to; when it is above 1, it means that the contagion speed is increasing.
Among the 22 countries analyzed, Iran has the highest rate (1.43), according to data compiled by the Our World in Data website. This means that every 100 people infected by coronavirus in Iran infect 143 others, who, in turn, infect 204 more, who infect 292, and so on, thereby spreading the disease faster.
Brazil’s rate is 1.01 -the fifth lowest in the list-, which means, according to the index, that the transmission is slower, but still progressive. Countries with R below 1 are only San Marino (0.96), United Kingdom (0.93), Austria (0.91) and Italy (0.81).
COUNTRIES THAT IMPOSE BARRIERS TO BRAZIL, ACCORDING TO IATA:
Germany
Saudi Arabia
Argentina
Austria
Bangladesh
Vatican City
Colombia
Spain
USA
France
Netherlands
Iran
Italy
Japan
Morocco
Oman
Pakistan
Peru
United Kingdom
San Marino
St. Martin
Turkey