President Alberto Fernández made the decision this morning after initiating a new round of consultations with governors and key officials of his administration. This afternoon he will announce nighttime restrictions to curb the increase in coronavirus cases, especially among the youngest, who show difficulties in respecting social distancing and complying with protocols.
As advanced Infobae, the time of prohibition of circulation will govern between 23 and 5 and sanctions will be established for noncompliants included in article 205 of the Penal Code. One of the first concerns that the Government team defined is what will happen to public transport.
In principle there will be no major changes with what is currently happening: buses and trains will continue to be enabled for essential workers, who must process their permits in the official Cuidar application or on the Argentina.gob.ar website. The Executive Power will review the list of professions that were acquiring the quality of “essential” during 2020 to guarantee that only authorized workers use public transport. It will also include some exceptions – such as emergency transfers – and it will intensify police controls, which in recent months have lost their presence in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area.
In the case of subways, there will be no changes because they do not work at night.
Currently there are many workers who are considered essential but will not have to circulate because the commercial sector to which they belong will not be able to open during the night. The full list can be found here.
In the first stage of strict quarantine, they were considered essential workers and were allowed to use public transport:
1. Staff of Health, Forces of security, Forces Armed, migratory activity, National Metereological Service, firefighters and control of air traffic.
2. Higher authorities of the governments national, provincial, municipal and of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Workers of the public sector national, provincial, municipal and of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, summoned to guarantee essential activities required by the respective authorities.
3. Staff of the justice services on duty, as established by the competent authorities.
4. Personal diplomatic and foreign consular accredited to the Argentine government, within the framework of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and staff of international organizations accredited to the Argentine government, from Red Cross and White Helmets.
5. People who must assist others with disabilities; relatives who need assistance; to people greater; a children, a girls already teenagers.
6. People who must deal with a force majeure situation.
7. People affected by the performance of services funeral homes, burials and cremations. In such a framework, activities that involve gathering of people are not authorized.
8. People affected by attention to school, community canteens and picnic areas.
9. Personnel working in the audiovisual, radio and graphic communication services.
10. Personnel affected by public work.
11. Supermarkets wholesalers and retailers and shops retailers proximity. Pharmacy. Hardware stores. Veterinary. Provision of carafes.
12. Industries of feeding, its productive chain and supplies; of personal hygiene and cleaning; of medical equipament, medicines, vaccinations and others sanitary supplies.
13. Activities related to production, distribution and agricultural marketing and of fishing.
14. Activities of telecommunications, fixed and mobile internet and digital services.
15. Activities that cannot be postponed related to the foreign trade.
16. Harvest, transport and treatment of waste urban solids, dangerous and pathogenic.
17. Maintenance of basic services (water, electricity, gas, communications, etc.) and customer service emergencies.
18. Public passenger transport, transport of merchandise, Petroleum, fuels and GLP.
19. Delivery of food, medicines, hygiene products, cleaning products and other necessary supplies.
20. Laundry services.
21. Services postcards and distribution of parcel.
22. Essential services of surveillance, cleaning and guard.
23. Minimum guards that ensure the operation and maintenance of Oil and Gas Fields, Oil and gas treatment and / or refining plants, transportation and distribution of electric power, liquid fuels, oil and gas, fuel vending stations and electric power generators.
24. SE Casa de Moneda, services of ATMs, transport flow rates and all those activities that the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic has essential to guarantee the functioning of the payment system.