The U.S. CDC raised the COVID-19 travel alert level for Argentina

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States today raised the travel warnings related to COVID-19 for Argentina, Sweden, Malta, and Moldova, amid the worsening of the pandemic worldwide, which led to an almost geometric increase in the number of infections.

For Malta, Moldova, and Sweden, the travel warning was raised to level four or “very high,” while for Argentina, it was raised to level three or “high,” the CDC said on Tuesday, according to a Reuters news agency cable.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Argentina

The map released by the agency highlights the following message about the South American country: “Make sure you are fully vaccinated before traveling to Argentina. Unvaccinated travelers should avoid non-essential travel to Argentina. Due to the current situation in Argentina, all travelers may be at risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19″ variants.

It also warns that “travelers should follow the recommendations or requirements in Argentina, including wearing a mask and staying 6 feet away from others. See recommendations for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the national public health agency of the United States. It is an agency under the U.S. government’s Department of Health and Human Services and is headquartered in Atlanta.

According to the country’s official regulations, the previous categorization, level two, which Argentina maintained for almost a month, implied a “moderate level of COVID”, although always with the need to “exercise more caution” than level 1 nations.

The State Department noted that “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 3 Travel Health Advisory for Argentina due to COVID-19, indicating a high level of COVID-19 in the country.”

Therefore, it told travelers, “your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-licensed vaccine. Before planning any international travel, review the CDC’s specific recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated persons. Restrictions are affecting the entry of U.S. citizens into Argentina. Visit the Embassy’s COVID-19 page for more information about COVID-19 in Argentina.

According to Argentina’s regulations, foreign nationals not residing in the country “must present a complete vaccination schedule, negative PCR 72 hours before embarkation and a COVID-19 health insurance, being exempted from quarantine,” according to the official website of the National Direction of Migration (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones).

The Argentine border agency warns that “before the trip, air, fluvial or maritime operators must verify compliance with the established entry requirements and the formulation of the affidavit” and emphasizes that “a complete vaccination schedule is understood as that defined by the health authorities of each country of vaccination”.

According to the CDC, the United States considers a person to be fully vaccinated once two weeks have passed since they received their second dose (or first dose, if it is a single dose).

The U.S. decision comes as Argentina is beginning to see the effects of the third wave of coronavirus. There has been an exponential increase in the number of infections. In the last week, new infections grew 157%, and in the last 24 hours, 20,263 new coronavirus infections were reported, the highest number in more than five months.

The city of Buenos Aires reported 4,005 infections, only surpassed by the province of Buenos Aires with 6,199 infections and 5,583 in Córdoba. Together, the three districts accounted for 78% of the new infections registered in the last hours.

The third wave of the pandemic in Argentina reaches a record number of daily infections, as has already happened in Italy, France, and Spain. The City of Buenos Aires and Córdoba reported the highest number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic.

Until yesterday, the highest number of positive cases reported in the City of Buenos Aires had occurred on May 26, at the peak of the second wave, when 3,658 infections were recorded in one day. With the latest report, new cases increased by 9.5% to reach the new record.