Originally Posted by
boboqui
What’s the situation there? Stay in place? Are restaurants open? How are you getting back to the US?
If you're asking about Uruguay, the situation seemed tense. Folks are obviously afraid of this pandemic. We headed to Punta del Diablo to lay low in a private accomodation. 2 days in, as the news was getting more worrisome, I contacted the US embassy. They urged us to head out before the airport gets shut down. Suggested a route with Copa to LAX via Panama. We hurried to book 2 tickets and hastily packed our bags. Drove back to MVD and flew out very early 3/20/20. Some restaurants seemed to be open in Montevideo, but a lot seemed shut.
I've been curious: would we really have gotten stranded down there if we hadn't left? It turns out yes, I just read on the US Embassy site in Panama: "The Panamanian government announced that all international commercial flights in and out of Panama will be suspended as of 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 22. There will be exceptions for cargo, humanitarian, medical supplies, and government aircraft flights. Any U.S. Citizens wishing to return to the United States should do so immediately. Any U.S. Citizens remaining in Panama should be prepared to remain indefinitely."
https://pa.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
This effectively kills the Copa route out of MVD. With AA also having suspended their MVD-MIA route (without any actual news releases on that--which was part of my confusion in staying put, waiting for our scheduled flight out), I think options are rapidly shriveling up. If you read this and are in MVD contemplating getting out, write the embassy and ask for their advice. Otherwise, best of luck, and I'll be curious to see how the situation progresses down there in UY.