ABI
Bolivia and Chile advanced this Sunday in the efforts to validate Covid-19 tests with the aim of speeding up the transit of Bolivian carriers at the Chungará-Tambo Quemado border crossing. This was announced by the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration, Benjamín Blanco.
“We have proposed to the Chilean delegation the possibility of Inlasa being our reference laboratory that takes the PCR tests. The results of these tests would be directly transmitted to the Chilean authorities to do a joint job, that is, not to duplicate efforts and that these tests are the ones that allow our carrier brothers to be able to enter Chilean territory,” Blanco said at a press conference. .
Inlasa is a decentralized public institution with technical and management autonomy, which performs laboratory diagnosis, production of essential immunobiologicals, quality control and food and beverage safety; supporting epidemiological surveillance, disease prevention and health promotion based on the development of research.
The Bolivian deputy minister met this day with the provincial presidential delegate of Chile’s Parinacota, Mario Salgado. At the meeting, a period of 72 hours was agreed to receive the response from the neighboring country to the Bolivian proposal.
You can also read: Chile reopens Chungará border crossing, after positive cases of covid
“We await the response in 72 hours that the brother delegate has indicated to us to make the internal coordination that is required with his Ministry of Health, most likely,” said the Bolivian authority.
From 12:20 on Friday, January 21, the transit of Bolivian international transport was re-enabled at the Chungará-Tambo Quemado border crossing, which had been closed due to the high positivity of Covid-19 cases of several of the officials. of the Chilean border complex.
In this line, and due to the pandemic, the capacity at the border was reduced due to contagion in national carriers. Since January 18, there have been 19 Bolivian positive cases; on January 19, 14 positive cases and on the 20th, only two positives, until the closure of the pass.
The Government of Bolivia, through the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vice Ministry of Foreign Trade, have been present at the border for more than a month and are closely addressing the issue of congestion. Currently, we continue to assist national carriers with food and medical check-ups.
The provincial presidential delegate of Parinacota de Chile, Mario Salgado, assured: “In 72 hours, we will respond to the request to implement a PCR system that has been validated by the Bolivian Government, which would allow generating greater flow.”
