General snapshot of Latin America after quarantines
Most of the attention until now has been focused on COVID-19 protocols, sanitation measures and local regulations. But once air operations are authorized by the different countries in the region and travelers begin to arrive, the picture will be far different from what it was before the pandemic, and in most cases it will be a pretty somber one.
With this series of articles, TSSLatam will try to give the traveler a quick snapshot of what to expect in the different countries in aspects like security and employment. We will divide the region and today we’ll begin with Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.
Venezuela
Uncertainty. That might be the word to describe the situation in Venezuela today. The world in general looks with distrust at the figures posted daily by the Venezuelan government regarding the COVID-19 virus.
A shortage of medical supplies, lack of water, nationwide power outages will cause a humanitarian tragedy once the virus strikes as it has done in the rest of the region.
Unemployment was already very high before the crisis and so were the figures for street crime and violence. The unstable political situation with the Maduro regime and the opposition, accusations of corruption and drug trafficking by regime officials and the capture of one of Maduro’s trusted advisors only add further confusion to the whole situation.
At TSS Latam, we consider only essential travel should be considered to this location and only under very strict security protocols.
LATAM COVID19 STATISTICS
Colombia
Colombia is going through the peak of the infection period.
The measures taken by the government to contain the virus have been very strict and lengthy in time. Due to those measures, the economy has been highly affected, hundreds of companies of all sizes have had to close their operations and thousands of jobs have been lost. (27% of unemployment)
Insecurity has skyrocketed in the major cities. Street crime and organized criminal actions to break into buildings and apartments are in the news every day, making the citizens feel more and more unsafe as days pass.
The humanitarian crisis with the Venezuelan migrants was already a huge issue before the pandemic began and it has only gotten worse. Hundreds of families are out on the streets begging for food and help. Some Venezuelans have turned to criminal actions, mostly petty crime, and have been captured. These cases have been in the news creating animosity towards the Venezuelans by the local population.
Protests in Latin America
International travel is supposed to restart after September 1st but we believe that will not happen. Domestic flights were supposed to reactivate after July 1st and that hasn’t happened yet. We will keep you posted.
Ecuador
This country was hit very hard initially by the virus. Guayaquil was the center of the crisis with hundreds of infections daily and deaths that overpowered the capacity the local organizations to evacuate the bodies.
The situation has now stabilized and Ecuador is one of the first countries that have reopened their airports. First, they began with domestic travel followed by international flights to and from the United States. Nevertheless, their borders remain closed to their neighbors: Brazil, Perú and Colombia.
Security has never been a big issue in Ecuador and we believe the situation has not shifted greatly.