Angola became, this Monday (29), the main obstacle for the Brazilian government to comply with Anvisa’s recommendation to close the air borders for passengers coming from it and from three other countries: Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.
The reason, according to sources at the Ministry of Health, is that in addition to not having any case of the new variant, the Angolans protested because the closing of the air border could prevent the implementation of an agreement for the return of definitive flights between Brazil and Angola.
Today flights are sporadic. But as of this Thursday they would have fixed dates, leaving Luanda to São Paulo on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from São Paulo to Luanda on Wednesdays and Fridays. The inaugural flight was being celebrated by the Angolan community in Brazil.
Still, the trend this Monday in the government was for the government to close the border to all four countries. The decision should come out after a meeting of executive secretaries scheduled for this Tuesday (30).
It will also debate whether Brazil will adopt the requirement that only vaccinated people enter the country. Unlike the closing of air borders, the so-called “vaccine passport” is a controversial issue within the government.
On the one hand, there is the recognition that the protection of the population is expanded. On the other hand, pressure from anti-vaccine groups on the government, especially on the Ministry of Health, has grown. This Sunday, after a meeting at the Ministry’s headquarters to deal with these issues, a group came to question the minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga. Part of the government is also afraid of the reaction on social networks and even at the Planalto Palace, as President Jair Bolsonaro was never enthusiastic about the vaccine.
Arguments, however, have been raised for and against the passport. For example, that the World Health Organization does not recommend it and that there is a social issue there, because it ends up harming the poorest countries that have low vaccination rates. It is likely that there will not be a definition on the matter at Tuesday’s meeting, but the idea is that by Friday there will be a formal position from the Brazilian government.
Reference: CNN Brasil
