El Salvador said Saturday it plans to reopen airports for international flights starting Sept. 19, but with a twist: incoming passengers will be required to show a negative PCR coronavirus test no more than three days old. Anyone lacking the test would be denied entry.
The new measures were contained in a notice to airlines published by the country’s port authorities. It was unclear whether the requirement would apply to Salvadoran citizens, who have a constitutional right to re-enter their country.
The Central American country has enacted some of the region’s strictest pandemic measures, like closing borders, imposing a national quarantine and dispatching police and the army to detain violators. Some of those measures have been challenged in court.
Roberto d’Aubuisson, the mayor of the city of Santa Tecla, who had been trapped outside the country for months after the border and airport closures in March, called on the government to clarify if the new measures apply to Salvadorans.
El Salvador has seen 26,851 confirmed coronavirus cases and 782 deaths.