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Latin American countries stepped up measures to slow the advance of the coronavirus Wednesday, announcing a slew of restrictions on travelers from the worst-affected countries and shutting down major sports events. Argentina, Colombia and Peru said travelers from China, Italy, Spain and France would be isolated on arrival. El Salvador went further, with President Nayib Bukele announcing late Wednesday the Central American country would ban entry to all foreigners for a period of 21 days. The move would affect “any foreigner who is not a resident or diplomat” posted in the country, Bukele said, adding that Salvadorans arriving from countries hit by the virus would face a 30-day quarantine. El Salvador — which previously banned entry on to those traveling from the worst-affected countries — is among a handful of states in the region yet to declare a confirmed coronavirus case. Argentina was the first Latin American country to register a coronavirus-related death on Saturday, with Panama announcing another on Tuesday. Cuba registered its first three cases on Wednesday. Three Italian tourists, who had arrived Monday in Havana, all tested positive for the virus and have been quarantined. The Cuban health ministry said they were “progressing well and none of them is in danger of death.” The continent still has only around 150 registered cases and two deaths. Though it pales with soaring global figures of 124,000 infections and more than 4,500 deaths, the new measures reflect the region’s growing disquiet — particularly given its close links with former colonial power Spain, one of the countries worst hit by the crisis. Buenos Aires announced a two-week isolation period for people arriving from China, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, South Korea and the United States. “If you don’t comply, you’ll be committing a crime, which is putting the public health at risk,” warned President Alberto Fernandez on Argentine radio. From “Tico Times” March 12 More complete information is available at AS/COA, Americas Society, Council of the Americas https://www.as-coa.org/articles/where-coronavirus-latin-america Beverly Joy-Karno Howard Karno Books, Inc. [log in to unmask] 1(760) 749-2304 www.karnobooks.com Member: ABAA; ILAB ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/membership/join-arlisna Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~