The Minister of Public Health of Salta, Juan José Esteban, reported yesterday that the Sunday the international passage of Salvador Mazza would be enabled, which connects the country with Bolivia through San José de Pocitos.
Entry into the country through this step was approved by Administrative Decision 1041/21, by which the national government authorized, “as of October 28, 2021, the opening of the ‘Martín Miguel de Güemes’ International Airport, Province of Salta , and the Salvador Mazza International Border Crossing as safe international corridors for entering the RA ”. However, the passage was not opened on the 28th itself, because the health post that must carry out controls in the framework of the coronavirus pandemic had not been installed.
This novelty, plus the closure during hours of the Martin Miguel de Güemes Airport Yesterday they generated a moment of anxiety, since the opening of these international entry points to the province was celebrated by the possibility of reactivating tourism a little more, after the limitations imposed by the pandemic. However, in the morning the Minister of Health clarified that the crossing in the north would be operational tomorrow, and the airport resumed its activity in the afternoon of yesterday, after a fire engine that had been damaged and led to the suspension was fixed. of the arrival and departure of planes for hours.
“On Sunday the tent is already installed and working”Minister Esteban said yesterday about the international passage of Salvador Mazza. In statements to Radio Nacional Salta, he indicated that it was not enabled that same Thursday because “the border crossing health control was precisely lacking,” essential to comply with the protocol proposed by the province and approved by the Nation for the entry of people from abroad. .
Esteban said that an epidemiology team from the province and the epidemiological coordinator of the Nation, Analía Rearte, they made a tour of the passage in order to analyze how the preventive and control health work will be with the people neighboring the border, who have a permanent transit between the two countries, “which obviously cannot be tested.” In that sense, he explained that he will aim to achieve the complete vaccination scheme for both residents and tourists, on whom the requirement of the PCR test will focus.
“We are already sending the elements, tents and reagents directly, everything that is going to be used, to do the tests of those who were not vaccinated who enter Salta as tourists,” he added about the opening of the passage. He said that the health team that will go north will also hold meetings with gendarmes and other border operators.
“We are going to have to place the work in people who are tourists, then we are going to have to put a lot of emphasis on swabbing evidently and doing reactive tests on tourist people who are not vaccinated and others, and with vaccination,” he said. Minister.
On the other hand, he said that they also have to make a safe corridor in the international airport, and that for this they are “studying logistics”, although with more tranquility because “the planes (of international flights) are not going to enter now”, but late November or December. “We also have to study the logistics for the installation of the tent, to see where the swabs are going to be done, to foresee how tourists enter,” he said.
A bumpy day
At midmorning yesterday, the Martín Miguel de Güemes Airport was closed until sunset due to failures in a fire truck, so the flights were transferred to the airport in the province of Jujuy.
As it transpired, the Salta airport has two fire engines, but one has been out of order for a long time and the exit from service of the only one that was left in condition, led to the suspension of flights because this equipment is a requirement to operate, in prevention against any eventuality.
The novelty caused discomfort in the government of the province. In the afternoon the Minister of Tourism and Sports of the province, Mario Peña, posted a thread on his Tweeter account reporting the airport closure and pointing to the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) due to weaknesses in the maintenance of the fire engine.
