The Uruguayan government has decided to close its borders and restrict the right of assembly to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, measures that come into force this month and will last until January 10.
During a press conference, the Uruguayan Minister of the Interior, Jorge Larrañaga, and the Minister of Defense, Javier García, detailed that, in order to ensure compliance with the border closure, 25 checkpoints will be installed and 500 soldiers will be deployed.
In addition, the bridges will be fenced and only freight will be able to enter. Likewise, private flights are prohibited, as well as the arrival of boats from other countries.
With regard to the right of assembly, non-compliance will result in fines of between 30 and 1,000 adjustable units – a unit of measurement whose value is regularly adjusted on the basis of the Uruguayan average wage index – in addition to the possibility of setting, by intervention of the Prosecutor’s Office, offense of contempt.
The regulation, approved on Friday, can be extended for another 60 days after January 10.
Uruguay is one of the countries least affected by the pandemic in Latin America. On Sunday, the country’s health authorities registered 497 new cases and five deaths caused by COVID-19. With these figures, Uruguay has a total of 13,048 people infected and 118 deaths from the disease, according to data provided by the Uruguayan Ministry of Health.