Paraguayans who return from Brazil are in the majority and shoot contagion cases

85% of the 2,810 Paraguayans who returned to the country due to the coronavirus pandemic have come from Brazil, a group that has triggered the contagion cases, the advisory minister of the National Defense Council (Codena), Federico González, said on Tuesday.

All of those who returned from Brazil, where today the deaths are close to 7,300 with more than 105,000 infections, did so through the Friendship Bridge, which separates the Paraguayan Ciudad del Este from the Brazilian Foz de Iguazú, González said.

On the Paraguayan side of this border crossing, around 180 people wake up every day before the security fence to enter the country. "All those who reached the bridge have entered with great effort," said González.

The government of Mario Abdo Benítez has focused this week on reinforcing control measures in that area due to the increase in positive cases related to citizens from the neighboring country.

The 16 positive cases of this Tuesday, out of a total of 458 tests processed in 24 hours, belong to this group, according to official data, which places infections at 431, while the number of fatal victims remains at 10.

Abdo Benítez moved to Ciudad del Este, the second largest city in the country, on Monday to verify the control measures and today the health authorities did the same to assess the conditions of the shelters.

A 22-year-old man fled this morning from one of these places and "is being sought by the police and the Public Ministry" for violation of the isolation measure, González explained.

Since March 23, Paraguayans who returned from abroad have been housed in 42 shelters created in different parts of the country amid other measures taken, such as the closure of borders and the restriction of movement of vehicles and people.

The massive return of nationals from Brazil and to a lesser extent from the United States and Argentina has become a complex task for the government, González said, detailing that some places closed their doors due to damage to their facilities and others desisted for fear of reactions. citizens.

"We have been overwhelmed in terms of the number of people who have entered or want to enter," said the minister, stressing that "getting more shelters is becoming increasingly difficult for various reasons," including the fear generated by the virus in the population.

In this regard, he commented that many private owners of lodging places desisted from their initial offer "because the inhabitants of their communities oppose the entry of our compatriots."

For this reason, Codena is in negotiations with businessmen from the hotel sector so that returnees can be accommodated in these facilities, chosen by themselves as long as they bear the costs of quarantine.

González maintained that the idea is for a second stage of the contingency and that the immediate challenge is to find a suitable place for a contingent of Paraguayans stranded in Argentina who asked to return in twelve buses.

"There are twelve buses that are ready and logically require the authorization of the Government of Argentina" for transit within the interior of the neighboring country, the minister said, stressing that all efforts are being made to accommodate this contingent spaces, more worthy places. "