Coronavirus in Argentina - Expats Living in Buenos Aires

As many of you are aware, my husband and I (and our two pups!) live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When coronavirus broke out, we were nervous to be away from the US but overall things have been okay here and we feel safe, which is all that really matters. Below I share some of our experiences with you in case you’re thinking of travelling here anytime soon. 

We started strict quarantine on March 20th 2020 - 12 weeks ago. And when I say strict, I mean we were only allowed out of our homes to go to grocery stores or pharmacies. Since we have dogs, we’ve been able to take them out in front of the apartment three times a day which has been super helpful in keeping us sane! I can’t imagine having to be in the apartment all day for 90+ days with no breaks!

Number of Cases

For most of the quarantine period, cases were only rising by around 150 a day; it was frustrating because it seems like we were in quarantine for no reason at all. However the last 2 weeks, the cases have been rising by 700-800 cases a day and the past week we’ve seen well over 1,200 new cases per day. Lately, many people are starting to get tired of the strict quarantine and there have even been some protests by the Obliseco. 

But now case numbers are getting higher so we actually have a greater need than ever before for the quarantine. The president even said yesterday that the need for stricter quarantine is greater now than ever but that people are beginning to get tired so we can’t go backwards. Also, since we’re in the southern hemisphere, the cold weather has started and temperatures are in the low 50’s and high 40’s daily which seems to be contributing to the spread. 

Currently, children are only allowed to leave their house on Saturdays and Sundays. They were not allowed to leave at all for the first 9 weeks. Nothing has been announced on when they will be going back to school. It’s the end of fall here and they are normally in school at this time of year.

Outdoor exercise and jogging are now allowed; which started on June 8th . For us, that's a big deal because we are joggers and 11 weeks without jogging outside has been difficult. We’ve found other methods of exercise while in the apartment, especially watching YouTube Fitness Channels, but for us, nothing beats hitting the pavement for stress relief. 

There are only two catches. 1 - you can only jog every other day. So if your DNI (Argentine equivalent of a US driver's license) ends in an odd number, you jog on odd days. And if your DNI ends with an even number, you jog on even days. 2 - we can only exercise outside from 7pm - 9am. For a lot of people, this really puts a limit on when they can get outside. But, I suspect this is what the government wanted - to reduce the number of people on the streets during rush hours. 

Masks

Masks are required in public - period. If you’re caught without one, it’s a fine of US$1,100. At first they were sort of difficult to get used to but now it feels “normal” to put them on before we leave the apartment. We just keep them by the door and it has become a habit to grab them before each dog walk or grocery store visit. Also, we live in a high rise with 50 floors and 3 apartments per floor so the masks provide us an extra layer of caution while riding in the elevators. 

Grocery stores here have been fully stocked and, at least in our neighborhood, nothing has really changed. When we went to the stores the day before the quarantine, the shelves were getting empty because everyone was stocking up before the quarantine went into effect but when we went 3 weeks after quarantine started, everything was fully stocked and has remained that way. In Argentina, people tend to buy smaller quantities of groceries and shop more often to prepare meals. Compared to in the US where people buy groceries for a week or two at a time. I think this cultural difference has helped keep the stores stocked here.

Travel

One of the biggest new laws to come out of COVID19 so far is around travel. The government has banned the booking of flights until Sept. 1st, 2020. As expats for the past 6 years, we’ve always had direct flights to the US available to us several times a week. This has been important to us should anything come up with family and we need to get on a flight immediately to get back home. Now, there really aren’t any options to get home quickly if we need to. There are sporadic repatriation flights coordinated by the US government/embassy here. Their process is to send out an email a week before the flight to make US citizens aware and then we can go on the website and book directly with the airline. So far, all the flights have been through Eastern Airlines.

Although they have been sporadic, it is a little more comforting to know every once in a while there are flights back home. But, if we do ever get on one of those flights, we will not be able to come back until after the international border is opened. And at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s closed until 2021. RIght now, we are just trying to stay positive and not think about the worst case scenario. 

The Silving Lining

A positive side effect of the quarantine has been how quiet the city has become. Normally there is a lot of traffic noise and people partying all hours of the night around us. But since quarantine it has been blissfully quiet at night. I used to use ear plugs almost every night but since quarantine, I haven’t needed them...it’s been super dreamy to sleep. 

Also, we’ve actually been able to try several new restaurants during this time. Weird, I know. Our neighborhood, Puerto Madero, is sort of far away from the more modern and delicious eateries in the Palermo neighborhood. Pre-coronavirus we were unable to get takeout to our apartment because of the distance. But now since everybody is needing as much business as possible, almost all restaurants are delivering to anywhere in the city. For us, this means restaurants previously out of our delivery zone are now willing to come to us. So we’ve had fun trying new eats and have definitely found some new favorites. It has given us something small to look forward to during this time. And it’s been great to be able to purchase from and support small business. 

Finally and probably most importantly, it has been good on our budget to do less travelling. We’ve been able to put that extra money in our bank account to save for the future when we’re no longer on expat assignment. 

You know, It can be difficult to watch our friends and family back home (in the US) start to go out more and get back to normal life while we are still in strict quarantine. But it does feel good that the government here has a clear plan and they are valuing the public health. If you were planning on travelling to Argentina at the end of 2020, I would recommend waiting until at least 2021. At this point in time, it seems doubtful the international border/airports will actually reopen in September. And many of the locals are wary about letting tourists back into their country. Truly, if you’re wanting the full Argentina experience, I would wait until the November 2021 - March 2022 tourist season to come here. That will hopefully guarantee you will be able to experience everything, open and safe.