The Ministry of Health presented new measures for border control. The requirements vary according to the health risk of the visitor’s country of origin
The Ministry of Health, following the recommendations of the National Commission for Pandemic Response, presented new measures for the control of national borders. “We know that this is a disease in constant evolution, we must be cautious and continue to observe its behavior. The objective of this plan is to minimize the risk of change in the national epidemiological situation due to the emergence of new variants, in particular the variants of concern defined by the WHO… If new variants of concern appear, what we will do is intensify the level of alert to prevent that from being transferred to a risk to the national territory, ”explained the Undersecretary of Public Health, Cristóbal Cuadrado.
Alerts
Based on the circulation of variants, at an international and community level, three alert levels were established.
Level 1 Alert: Level 1 Alert assumes a community transmission scenario of the already known and controlled variants.
-In this alert there is no restriction for trips that enter or leave the country and the homologation of vaccines for travelers will be voluntary. Likewise, testing prior to the trip is only recommended, but upon arrival in Chile they may be tested randomly.
-All passengers must carry their Sanitary Passport or C19, and in the case of non-residents they must also bring health insurance that covers COVID-19.
-Finally, if there is a confirmed case of SARS-CoV2 on a flight, they will be isolated as indicated by current health regulations (at home reported in c19 or Health Residence if required). While for cases or contacts there will be follow-up.
-We continue with genomic surveillance, therefore all PCRs that are positive in random testing will be analyzed.
Alert Level 2: There is a variant of concern without community circulation, or with an initial community circulation, and where the health authority determines that the country is prepared to respond for its prevention and control.
-Partial restriction of travel, with reduced flow to and from those places where the presence of a new variant of concern is suspected.
-Confirmed cases must be isolated in a health residence, close contacts in their homes or health residence if they so require.
-C19 mandatory.
-The diagnostic test before traveling is mandatory.
– Homologation of vaccines is mandatory for non-resident travelers.
-Having health insurance that covers COVID-19 is mandatory for non-residents.
-Testing upon arrival in our country will be mandatory.
-Genomic surveillance will be done based on all positive PCR samples from travelers in the last 14 days or close contacts.
Level 3 Alert: Considers the appearance of a variant of concern without community circulation within the country, where there is no further information or a high health impact on the Chilean population is estimated despite the response of the health system.
-Travel to and from places where the presence of a new variant of concern is suspected or confirmed is totally restricted.
-All passengers, with or without a positive diagnosis, must comply with their quarantine in health residences.
-C19 mandatory.
-The negative diagnosis prior to the trip is mandatory.
– Homologation of vaccines is mandatory for non-resident travelers.
-Having health insurance that covers COVID-19 is mandatory for non-residents.
– Testing upon arrival is mandatory.
-Genomic surveillance will be done based on all positive PCR samples from travelers in the last 14 days or close contacts.
At land border crossings, where it may be difficult to carry out PCR tests due to storage conditions, the testing requirement may be met with antigen tests.
Finally, income for humanitarian reasons, supply flows, and strategic activities will always be maintained.
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