ReliefWeb

Situation

• Argentina had more than 3,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 65,000 deaths by the end of April. As of mid-April new restrictions for the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (AMBA) were put in place, and warnings about the state of Argentina’s health system escalated. Argentina’s mass vaccination campaign made progress, including refugees and migrants irrespective of their status, though the government struggled to acquire all the vaccines it had ordered. The pandemic in Uruguay entered a critical phase, with the highest cases per capita in the world as of April. The Permanent Secretariat of the National Refugee Commission (CORE) began to implement mechanisms to guarantee access to COVID-19 vaccines by asylum-seekers who do not have an identity card and, for that reason, cannot register themselves in the official database. The president of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, acknowledged to the media that the country's health system was "under high demand", with health centers and hospitals "outmatched" by the sustained increase in the spread of COVID-19 and the consequent increase in hospitalizations. Authorities promised to establish a mechanism for the refugee and migrant population to register for the vaccine. In Bolivia, departments bordering Brazil had an accelerated growth of COVID-19 cases compared to the rest of the country. By the end of April, the country entered a third wave of COVID-19 cases, and Bolivia closed the border with Brazil.

• In Bolivia, some 30 Venezuelans (including children) were reported by partners to be detained for several hours in Desaguadero border point (with Peru) for irregiular crossing in spite of borders being closed, most of them with the intention to continue their journey to Chile and Paraguay. In April, partners at the Bolivian border with Peru reported a reduced influx of refugees and migrants, however Desaguadero continued to be the main entry point into Bolivia for Venezuelans, and Pisiga the main exit point with significant irregular movements.

• The situation in Argentina’s northwest border with Bolivia continued to show a steady flow of refugees and migrants from Venezuela arriving to the city of La Quiaca (Jujuy). R4V partners continued to monitor the situation in the province of Misiones, where its proximity to the critical pandemic context in Brazil raised concerns about COVID-19 transmission rates. During 2021, partners reported 56 refugees and migrants having entered Argentina via Puerto Iguazu.