The health emergency was lifted
On 10 March 2020, the President of Paraguay, Mr Mario Abdo Benitez, had declared the national “Aislamiento Preventivo General” (Health Emergency). This laid the foundation for numerous measures in the course of containing the SARS_CoV_2 virus. These measures were originally set to expire on 12.4.2020, but ultimately lasted for more than 2 years.
Today it has been made clear that the situation in the country no longer justifies the maintenance of this health emergency in any way. Therefore, the health emergency was lifted on 18.04.2022. This means that all measures and restrictions on the population, which are based on this health emergency, have been suspended with immediate effect.
Paraguay is back to normal
After a good 2 months of lockdown from 20 March 2020 to 3 May 2020, the measures were gradually scaled back more and more. Since the second half of 2020, there have therefore been comparatively few restrictions in Paraguay. Here in the country, we were spared unnecessary lockdowns, the shops and restaurants were always open and we could almost live normally. But only almost; what we had in mind as a constant reminder of the Covid19 issue was the face mask in public buildings.
From now on, we can also leave this relic at home with a clear conscience. However, those who have become accustomed to it over the past 2 years can rest easy. The voluntary wearing of a “tapa boca” (mouth guard) is still possible without penalty.
Entering Paraguay without vaccination
One of the last restrictions under the Covid measures was the mandatory presentation of a vaccination certificate against Covid 19 for legal entry into the country. This is no longer required as of now!
Those who want to enter Paraguay without a vaccination certificate can now do so again. All you need is a negative PCR test, which must not be older than 48 hours at the time of entry.
Drawing a line under the pandemic
After more than 2 years in a state of emergency, we can now draw a line under this chapter here in Paraguay. In the past 2 years, 648,000 infections have been registered in Paraguay. In total, up to 18,734 people have died from or with Covid_19. According to worldometers.info, this ranks Paraguay 76th in the world; between Sri Lanka and Kuwait.
Other countries with much more drastic measures are significantly higher on this list. For example, Switzerland in 34th place with around 3.5 million cases or Austria in 24th place with over 4 million cases of comparable size. Italy in the unattractive 9th place stands out particularly negatively, having managed to end up with over 15 million cases and more than 160,000 deaths despite massive restrictions on the population such as the “green passport” (1G).