The National Director of Customs of Chile, José Ignacio Palma, participated this Monday (16.03.2020/15/XNUMX) in an important meeting convened by the Undersecretariat of the Interior, where together with other public services a series of details were defined regarding the closure of the borders and other related measures to face the advance of the coronavirus in the country, which will initially be for XNUMX days.
As already reported since yesterday based on the instructions given by the Government, From midnight on Wednesday, March 00.00, the borders of all Chile will be closed to the entry of foreigners, allowing only the entry of Chileans or residents, who will be subjected to Sanitary Customs by health teams present at the controls, especially truck drivers, and may not be allowed to enter the country if that person presents symptoms. Authorization or denial of entry into the country is not the responsibility of Customs but of the health authority.
They will be subject to a 14-day quarantine if they come from some of the high-risk countries with major outbreaks of COVID-19, such as Germany, South Korea, China, Spain, France, Iran, Italy and Japan.
This closure will not affect the entry or exit of cargo, nor will it affect Chile-Chile and Argentina-Argentina transits, a country with which there will be reciprocity.
As a general rule, it was determined that border controls where there is only movement of people will be closed, the same will occur with those where there is only the presence of Carabineros.
Regarding the Chacalluta Border Crossing, which is integrated, Peru will withdraw its officials from that location, so our officials will only have to work in Chacalluta and not in Santa Rosa.
There are some controls that have already been closed by the Border Crossing Unit due to the lack of health personnel., such as Bellavista, Ingeniero Ibañez, Pichachén, Peulla and Vergara. While San Francisco and Pircas Negras were closed by the Argentine authorities. The Chungará complex will remain open for cargo and will continue to operate under an integrated regime.
Regarding preventive measures in the complexes, it was instructed that if an employee of any institution presents symptoms of contagion, all the employees who are part of that shift will be relieved of their duties and will be sent to quarantine. Related to the same, when the employees finish their shifts they could be subjected to medical checks to verify their health status.
In the Only Chileans or residents will be allowed to enter airportsAs for maritime controls, ports are closed to cruise ships, yachts, fishing vessels and even scientific vessels.
The Border Crossing Unit will evaluate bringing forward the winter time mode for some controls, while special or particular situations that may arise must be resolved at the time with the Complex Coordinator or the respective authority.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
