HRS COVID-19 Weekly Report
In general: The situation of all countries continues is almost the same as the last week, with some little adjustments to the core measures previously adopted.
Argentina
The government continues collaborating with WHO 4 different studies in order to combat COVID-19 and the situation in general remains equal. Argentine frontiers continue to be closed even for Argentinian residents living abroad. Argentinian Foreign Relations Ministry will assist Argentinian nationals abroad with their basic needs until they are able to return to Argentina.
Complete lockdown until April 12th and can only go out to shop for food or medicine and take dogs out for short walks. Schools and universities continue to be closed. Classes are being delivered virtually in many establishments. Public and Administrative offices, private offices, national parks, theatres and cinemas continue to be closed. To help alleviate financial problems, the government issued a decree to order the suspension of all evictions from properties during 180 days and prohibit any increases in rent and mortgage payments until the finalization of the quarantine, when differences will be calculated and paid. Renewals of residency permits and visas that were due between March 17th and April 15th are extended for 30 days.
Aruba
The number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Aruba is now 71. All Schools and other educational institutions remains closed. Also all shopping malls, all flea markets, tourist markets and kiosks, beauty shops (hair, nails, etc.), barber shops are closed. In bars, food trucks, bakeries and restaurants, only takeout and delivery is allowed. Casinos, nightclubs, adult entertainment, art expos, recreational centers, cinemas, companies offering recreational activities, gyms and other exercise facilities, places where sports is practiced, museums are also closed, as well as places offering meeting and/or event facilities, churches and construction projects. Mandatory curfew still effective from 21:00 to 06:00.
From 06:00 to 21:00 only up to 3 people meetings, people can go out only for grocery and medical supplies. Nobody can enter the country. This restriction counts for residents of Aruba as well. Only empty flights can come in to pick up passengers leaving Aruba to take them to their destination. Residents who are abroad and are having difficulties to return to Aruba can contact cmo@crisis.aw for assistance. It is prohibited to visit retirement homes. Government departments are working with limited personal. Services to the public will be given on appointment basis only, if it is necessary all other services will be given via telephone or email.
Barbados
The number of COVID-19 cases has increased to 56, including 6 recoveries. Curfew has been set to 24 hours nationwide starting on April 3rd in an effort to contain the spread of the virus outbreak on the island. According to the statement, the curfew will remain effective until Wednesday, April 15th.
Additionally, all non-essential businesses are to remain closed across the island until Wednesday, April 15th. Individuals who recently traveled to the UK, Europe, the US, China, Iran, and South Korea will be placed under a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
Brasil
The country has more than 11,000 positive cases for Covid-19 and almost 500 deaths. According to a public research, 76% of Brazilians support social isolation. All the states declare quarantine, except for the essential services. São Paulo extended the quarantine until April, 22nd .
On March 27th, 2020, the Minister of State Chief of Staff of the Presidency, Justice and Public Security, Infrastructure and Health has just published the Ordinance Act 152, exceptionally and temporarily restricting the entrance of foreigners in Brazil by air, regardless their nationality, for a period of 30 (thirty) days.
The measure is necessary due to the recommendation from the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) in order to combat the pandemic caused by COVID-19.
The restriction on foreigners entering the country does not apply to:
Brazilian, born or naturalized;
immigrant with permanent residence, for a fixed or indefinite period, in Brazilian territory;
foreign professional on mission at the service of an international organization, as long as duly identified;
foreign employee accredited by the Brazilian Government;
foreigner in the condition of: a) spouse, partner, son, father or curator of a Brazilian, b) whose entry is specifically authorized by the Brazilian Government in a clear public interest; and c) bearer of the National Migration Registry;
transport of goods;
passenger in international transit, as long as he does not leave the international area of the airport and the country of destination admits his ticket;
technical landing to refuel when there is no need to disembark passengers of restricted nationalities; and
flight crew and airline employees in the country for operational purposes, albeit foreign.
Public agencies remain closed, except for emergency cases.
Bolivia
183 positive cases, 10 deaths. Quarantine until April 14th. Permissions to leave home between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 (noon), allowed only for specific critical needs: Grocery/pharmacy, etc. organized by last digit of ID card: Mon: 1-2 Tues: 3-4 Wed. 5-6 Thurs: 7-8 Fri: 9-0. Must have ID card. Age requirement 18-65. Saturday and Sunday there is no permissions to stay out. If found in violation of this, then a fine will be applied and also incarceration. No transportation. Transportation violation implies a fine plus jail.
Chile
As of yesterday, total of cases 4,815 with 37 people dead and 344recovered. Control measures for the entry of foreigners have been reinforced, only Chileans are allowed to enter Chile and foreigners with an actual residence (not in process). Curfew from 22:00 to 05:00 is still in place. There are sanitary barriers in various cities along Chile with strict control of entry and exit. Schools, Universities and group activities are still suspended. Restaurants, bars, shops, shopping and malls are closed, with the exception of Pharmacies, Supermarkets and Banks, which have office hours. Some state offices are attending but only special cases. Businesses that would be possible to perform remote work are doing so, but those that are strategically important continue to operate with minimal staff on shifts. Use of face masks is now mandatory on public transportation. Some locations have implemented use of face masks mandatory while in the streets, but it is not countrywide yet.
New status on Immigration procedures: All Consular processes are suspended at least for 1 month. There is not a fixed date to have the system available yet. All Chilean consulates are closed for visa processing. Immigration processing system in Chile is working and we continue processing new cases and monitoring cases in progress. All tourist entrance must be extended before the due date.
Colombia
The number of Covid-19 cases has increased to 1,835 including 35 deaths. Quarantine remains active countrywide. Border and airports also remains closed, all non-essential businesses are closed. President Ivan Duque will address the nation this week in order to take new measures regarding a possible curfew schedule.
Costa Rica
467 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2 deaths. Costa Rican Government has decided that effective March 24th, 2020, all foreigners residing or with a valid immigration condition in the country, who leave the national territory, will automatically lose their immigration status. Countrywide lockdown until April 17th. Only grocery, medicines or supply shopping is allowed.
Dominican Republic
As of April 6, 2020 the Dominican Republic has 1,828 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 86 confirmed deaths.
General Purpose Measures:
The government has declared the country in state of Emergency until May 10th, 2020;
Suspension of all consular services in the Dominican Republic and in the consulates abroad;
Cancelation of flights scheduled to and from Europe China, Korea and Iran;
Forced home quarantine for passengers who arrived from any of those countries into the Dominican Republic in the last 2 weeks;
Suspension of all cruises and port activity;
Closing of borders (except for departure of foreign nationals and cargo ships that carry basic supplements and fuels);
Suspension of School instruction until further notice;
Suspension of massive gatherings until further notice (restaurants only open for delivery and take out);
Suspension of commercial activities (except for pharmacies, supermarkets, gas stations, medical laboratories, hospitals);
Rigorous social quarantine for people 65+ years of age;
Implementation of home office and flexible hours;
Continue implementing social quarantine and hygiene measures.
Specific Health Purpose Measures:
1. Release of COVID – 19 tests to certified labs;
2. Enable more Quarantine Centers;
3. Limit the number of visits of people in hospitals and clinics;
4. It is imperative to notify the authorities of any new case of COVID – 19;
5. Private Health Centers can enable special areas to treat COVID - 19;
6. ARS Insurance companies in order to support prevention and containment measures have agreed to include in their covered services the COVID -19 test.
Ecuador
As of yesterday, 3,747 cases and 191 deaths. Country is under state of emergency as of March 17th, 2020. All borders are closed. All incoming flights are cancelled, both national and international, until further notice. Mandatory Quarantine has been declared. Only Health professionals and institutions, banks and food providers are open. Car circulation is restricted by plate number and only to provide medicine, food or any health emergencies. Curfew is still in place. Schools are closed until further notice. As of yesterday, 1,890 cases and 57 deaths.
El Salvador
78 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4 deaths. Curfew continues in place.
Guatemala
77 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Borders are closed for foreign visitors. Legal residents can only arrive in Guatemala by land from Mexico. 15-day Mandatory quarantine for residents arriving. All ongoing/incomplete immigration processes of foreigners that were left due to the virus spread are on hold. Until now, no prolongation for visitors visa due to the COVID-19 situation. Quarantine extended until April 12th with curfew from 16h00 until 4h00.
Guyana
There has been reported 29 cases and 4 deaths. Airports in Guyana still partially closed. Only outgoing, cargo, medevac, technical and any other specially authorized flights are allowed. Schools remains closed until further notice. Many non-essential business are starting to close down in order to secure social distance. Mandatory curfew has started since April 3rd from 07:00 pm until 6:00 am for all citizen, except those that has any confirmed emergency.
Honduras
305 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 deceased. Borders are closed for foreign visitors. 15-day Mandatory quarantine for residents arriving. All ongoing/incomplete immigration processes of foreigners that were left due to the virus spread are on hold. Until now, no prolongation for visitors visa due to the COVID-19 situation.
Mexico
2,439 confirmed cases with 125 deceased. Federal Government declared suspension of all non-essential activities from March 30th to April 30th, including a social quarantine applicable nationwide.
Panama
1,988 people infected, 54 deaths, 13 recovered. Most of them are between the ages of 20-80. There are 78 people in critical conditions. People only have 2 hours a day to buy essential supplies at the supermarket and the pharmacy depending on the last number of the ID cards plus Curfew from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Closure of borders. All Flights were canceled for 30 days. Suspension of classes at all levels. Cancellation of social, sporting, cultural and religious events. Sanitary checkpoints between cities to prevent people from going out of the city and to the beaches. Mandatory quarantine for the entire population. Isolation for 14 days people coming from abroad is mandatory. The only places that should be opened are the pharmacies and supermarkets. Some restaurants are opened only to order by delivery. Price and quantity control for cleaning and personal hygiene products. There is a call center to answer questions – 169. R.O.S.A virtual platform (automated health response) digital medical office attended by doctors and can be used also by WhatsApp. All migratory processes are suspended. Authorities are not going to ask for updated visas on the streets. Expired passports are allowed. All embassies are closed.
Paraguay
Is in total quarantine since a week and will remain like that until April 12, so far. This Monday, the quarantine was increased limiting in a minimum the movement of people in the streets. Until last night report, we have a total of 113 positive patients, 5 passed away so far. This is not a real number since Paraguay has not the capability of making test as it should, just a hundred of tests per day is not enough. Economically, the Government is making several decisions to minimize the impact of people loosing thier jobs, not having funds/food to eat, and facing a long period to recover.
Peru
Peruvian Board of Ministers has approved the State of Emergency applicable since the time of the publication in the State Bulletin, just before midnight 03/15/2020. Initially valid for 15 days, and now extended until April 15th. State of emergency includes: restricted mobility to all citizens, everybody must stay at home, except in cases of force majeure. At any case the movement of citizens will be always unaccompanied. Closure of all establishments carrying out public activity except for the distribution of food and basic needs. All educational activity in person is suspended. Terms are suspended and time limits for processing procedures of public sector entities are interrupted. The Government has declared a curfew from Wednesday 18th 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. every day until the end of the quarantine. In some regions such as Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad and Loreto, the immobilization is in force from 4:00 p.m. m. until 5:00 a.m. m. In addition, men can only transit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; women on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; And on Sundays, no one will be able to go out.
Official organizations have closed or limited their activity. There is an alarm decree that will suspend the deadlines for all administrative processes from March 16th to March 30th, 2020, with the possibility of an extension. The terms will continue at the moment in which the mentioned decree or its extensions lose validity.
Immigration procedures will be affected as follows:
Suspension of the appointments for DNI, passports and residence cards (procedure for taking fingerprints);
Suspension of the appointments included in the dates March 16th to March 30th, 2020. Expeditions will be specifically attended for justified reasons of urgency. Once normality is restored, all appointments will be rescheduled;
The Civil Registries will remain closed; this measure will affect the procedures for nationality and obtaining duplicates of certificates;
Face-to-face assistance is suspended in the offices of foreigners for information and appointments;
The Public Administration will continue to work electronically, and if you have to renew or modify a residence permit, you should not be worry, these may be initiated during this period, through the different platforms enabled by the different administrations (immigration and nationality procedure), with the observation that the resolution periods may vary.
Procedures available for electronic filing:
Initial residence and work authorizations for highly qualified professionals, intra-company transfer, entrepreneurs and investors;
Renewals of temporary residence and work authorization;
Long Term Residence Permits;
Modifications of residence authorization;
Renewal of study authorizations;
Permanent Residence of Family Member of the EU Citizen;
Authorization for students;
Initial residence authorization for internships or job search.
Trinidad
There has been reported 104 cases with 7 deaths. “Stay at home” measures still in effect for the non-essential labor force. Borders remains closed and all airports are closed. Only Cargo flights with special authorizations are allowed. All public transportation vehicles should operate with windows open and limit their occupancy by 50 percent. The Ministry will continue providing information in the days to come.
Suriname
10 cases have been confirmed until April 4th and 1 death. Airports and Borders remains closed since March 14th. Nationwide curfew from 20:00 to 06:00 is still in place as a counter measure to the spread of COVID-19. All non-essential businesses remain closed.
Venezuela
159 cases confirmed and 7 deaths. School and non-essential businesses remains closed. Quarantine still active in all regions, all international and domestic flights still banned. No further measures have been taken by the local government.
In addition, fuel crisis had affected all mobility inside the country, only a few gas stations are providing services for medical personnel, official transportation and special government authorized vehicles.