At the request of the the region's governing body, government has approved a health and sanitary protocol for football clubs involved in the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana tournaments.
Both tournaments, in which teams from across South America go head-to-head for a regional title, are due to restart in three weeks time.
"We had a meeting with the Cabinet chief [Santiago Cafiero], the health minister [Gines González García], the transport minister [Mario Meoni] and immigration authorities, and we made progress in the approval of the protocols, with some specific recommendations that we will notify CONMEBOL of," said Tourism and Sports Minsiter Matías Lammens, speaking at a press conference.
Lammens, a former president of San Lorenzo, said that CONMEBOL's recommendations had been closely studied. He described the rules as "strict" and said officials had concluded that "neither the population, nor Argentina's schools nor foreigners are at risk."
"The foreigners are only going to be 72 hours [in the country], with the idea that they are here the least amount of time. They do not have to go into quarantine," said the official.
Five Argentine teams – Boca Juniors, River Plate, Racing Club, Defensa y Justicia and Tigre – are competing in the Copa Libertadores, with fixtures beginning September 17.
CONMEBOL's suggested protocol says those who make contact with visiting delegations must have tested negative for coronavirus beforehand and proposes players stay in individual rooms during the trip. It also requests that they pass through customs checks swiftly in order to minimise potential contact with other parties.
The governing body unveiled its health protocol several days ago. The Argentine government was one of the last in the region too approve it. The country's league matches have not yet resumed, unlike many other nations in the region, given a recent surge in coronavirus cases.
Officials recorded more than 10,000 new infections on Wednesday alone. Argentina has registered more than 360,000 infections, with more than 7,500 deaths to date.
– TIMES/AFP
Comments