Last night, President Alberto Fernandez announced that midnight would start an 11-day period of national “self-quarantine” for Argentina. He took that step in consultation with his cabinet ministers, key congressional leaders, and the governors of the country’s 24 provinces (including the city of Buenos Aires, which is treated as a province).
Rumors had been rife throughout the day that some kind of lockdown was coming. However, nobody was sure exactly what it would entail nor if it would commence more or less immediately or in several days.
Strong measured steps were taken first
Consequently, people were sort of preparing — hurried shopping, keeping close tabs on the whereabouts of family members, guarding pets indoors, and so on. That process was eased by the fact that all week much of the country was already at a standstill due to earlier measures. You can read about the first such efforts in my diary from Sunday: Preventing the Coronapocalypse in Argentina: our proactive government takes strong measures
In short,
- Borders were closed to entry by air, land, or sea
- Classes were canceled from pre-school through university
- Sporting events, cinemas, theaters, nightclubs, and so on were canceled or closed
- Bars and restaurants were closed
- Anyone 60 or older, or with medical conditions that make them susceptible, were granted leave to stay home and still be paid
- Everyone who had entered the country prior to the border closing was required to self-isolate in quarantine for 14 days. This was monitored and enforced by health safety officers and was put into effect weeks ago, before we had even a single case
On Monday, new federal measures were announced:
- All long distance public transport — buses, trains, flights — was canceled or limited to essential personnel in critical jobs with government or key industries
- Hotels were prohibited from providing lodging to Argentinos and resident foreigners (who were told to return to their homes)
- Shopping malls and commercial centers were shuttered, except stores selling essential needs like groceries and medicines
Additionally, local authorities (governors, mayors, etc) ordered certain actions:
- Local public transit — buses and subway — was shut down or reduced in service and limited to essential personnel (police, medical, sanitation, etc)
- Entry into a number of provinces and cities was controlled via roadblocks on highways. Non-residents were turned back and residents were allowed in but ordered into quarantine for 14 days
A leap forward in efforts to contain the virus
Last night’s presidential decree — a bipartisan effort agreed by all major parties — took a giant leap forward in this attempt to stop the spread of the virus before it really starts (almost all of the cases here are people who had recently returned from foreign hotspots or family members of such travelers). The lockdown is nearly total:
- Almost all businesses and government offices are shut. Exceptions are grocery stores, pharmacies, and ATM machines (but the banks are closed).
- Regular folks are allowed to leave home solely to go to buy groceries and medicine and get cash. Social distancing is mandatory within such shops. Short walks of pets are allowed, with social distancing.
- Those who work in vital areas — both key people like pharmacists but also the support staff who help them — are allowed to travel to and from work but are expected to follow the same rules as everyone else when not engaged in work duties
- Major roads, within cities as well as outside the cities, are being policed with roadblocks. One must have a valid reason to travel, such as being in an exempt occupation
The idea is to stop community transmission of the virus before it really gets going. As of yesterday, when the lockdown was announced, there were 128 cases in 13 of the 24 provinces. Most of the affected provinces have just 1 or 2 cases; the vast majority are in the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the sprawling suburbs surrounding it in the province of Buenos Aires. You can see a map here: Confirman 31 nuevos casos de coronavirus en Argentina y ya son 128 los contagiados en todo el país (Clarin)
Previously, Argentina could process Covid-19 tests at just one laboratory in Buenos Aires. Now, that lab has trained people and provided supplies for 6 new testing labs around the country, with plans to expand further. With more ability to test, Argentina wants to get ahead of the curve: block most transmission during this 11-day hiatus to cut off the normal growth of infections and then quickly douse “hotspots” where new cases arise by testing and quarantining all contacts of those persons.
Will it work? We don’t know. But it does seem to be working like that in Hong Kong, which is densely populated compared to Argentina and its vast rural spaces outside Buenos Aires.
Of course, vigilance would need to remain constant until a vaccine or cure is found. If all protocols are dropped, it would take just one new imported infection to begin the whole nightmare again. But if it works, it buys us time until a solution is found or for the virus to mutate to a milder version.
Also, the federal government has begun building 8 new hospitals specifically to deal with Covid-19 patients.. So, even if it total containment isn’t possible, the government plans to be ready to deal with a substantial number of cases (and hope that the containment procedures keep that number low enough to cope).
Krotor, international master criminal with canine accomplices
So, here I am in Day 1 of Quarantine. In reality, it’s more like Day 5 for me. I’ve been prepping for this some time and the last occasion I went out was on Sunday, briefly, to buy some fresh produce. Actually, when I said “out” I meant it as mixing in public. I have gone out, and still do, to walk my dogs.
Dogs are what led to my emergency. Wouldn’t you know it, the first day of the quarantine and a darn good reason came up to break it.
I live in the last house of my street. In front of my house, the paved road ends and becomes a dirt-and-gravel road that goes to the nearby river, about a quarter mile away. In between is just scrub land, lots of bushes and grasses. That’s where my dogs and I walk, to and beside the river (or down in it, they love to swim).
At the river, the road bends to the left and after about another quarter mile one finds a plant that “harvests” gravel from the (very!!!) rocky river; they sell gravel, sand, concrete, and products made from concrete, like blocks.
As might be expected of a business out in the middle of nowhere, they have a bunch of dogs, including two youngsters in the same range as my youngest: 6-15 months old. Their dogs and my dogs are all friends … actually, more like an extended family.
The two youngest and an adult female come to visit my house every day, sometimes staying for an hour or so but often staying overnight. When my dogs and I go walking down by the river, our canine friends come running out to meet us. They really think that they have two homes and are equally comfortable at both.
One of them, Sidekick, came for a visit yesterday and I noticed blood where he’d been lying. I gave him a quick look-over and noticed blood on his underside but he scooted off and headed back to the river (he’s skittish and freaks out when I do something “weird” that he’s not used to).
I thought perhaps he’d been in a fight with stray dogs, of which, sadly, there are an abundance here. It was time for our afternoon walk anyway so off we went.
I’ve been keeping social distance even before this quarantine so at the plant I just shouted to get someone’s attention while I stood outside their fence. One of the workers, who knows that their dogs spend time with me, came out. He said he was aware of Sidekick’s problem but told me the blood wasn’t from a fight; it was coming out of his penis. He said they’d called their vet who had not yet responded.
So, I told him to stop by my house after work and I would give him the number of one of the vets I use who makes house (or plant) calls. He didn’t come by and I hoped their vet had called them back.
But, Sidekick showed up in the evening at my house. I thought “This isn’t right.” If their vet had come out, he or she would have (among other things) prescribed some pills and they would have kept Sidekick inside to make sure he was around to take the pills.
So, I phoned my vet who promised to come out this morning (vets are an exempt occupation). He did and diagnosed a urinary infection and prescribed antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory.
Then my question was: “Is there anyone left at the plant or is it deserted now due to the quarantine?” Once again, I was off to the plant, dogs frolicking in their virus-unaware innocence.
A different guy, whom I don’t know, was there. I told him about Sidekick’s condition and inquired what we should do: could they care for him or should I keep him for a week? It turns out that the plant is keeping at least one person there at all times (not surprising, they have a lot of very expensive earth-moving machines to guard).
I had previously carefully disinfected the medicines in their packaging with my bleach solution and left them with the employee, as well as giving him the instructions about their use. So they will follow the doctor’s orders and give Sidekick his meds. I promised that Sidekick can visit but I will put him out and shut the gate to ensure he goes back to the plant for his meds.
That’s a relief. I can go back to being a model citizen and obey the quarantine now. Darn dogs, they’re the one thing that can turn me into a scofflaw.
Argentina’s new trans media star
On a final note, how about a feel-good story from Argentina to brighten your day?
Argentina has been a very progressive nation in terms of LGBQT rights, leading the rest of the Americas. We were early adopters of marriage equality and are proud of having the strongest gender identity law in the world. Yet, there’s still prejudice in society, even if the law is on our side.
So it’s really nice to see another landmark event take place in a highly visible manner, a signal to LGBQT people and to our haters that we’re here and most of the nation is fine with that.
Diana Zurco, a trans woman, is the new co-anchor of a primetime news show, a first in our country. That makes her not just a celebrity but our celebrity, someone who will be one of the famous faces from our community. Congrats to Diana!
Argentine television gets its first transgender news anchor (Buenos Aires Times)