In Argentina’s nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus, one magical being has been handed a presidential exemption: the tooth fairy.
President Alberto Fernandez this week ordered all but essential workers to stay home and off the streets. But he was forced to amend the list of exemptions after receiving a message from the mother of a 7-year old boy who had recently lost his first tooth.
“Dear @alferdez, I need to ask if the tooth fairy is among those exempted from quarantine? Joaquin has lost his first tooth and we don’t know if we should leave him a letter. We don’t want to cause the tooth fairy problems or for the police to detain him.”
Fernandez reassured the boy an hour later that the tooth fairy was indeed on the official list of exceptions.
“@littlekbz Cecilita! The tooth fairy can leave rewards for fallen teeth because he is not under quarantine. But the rest of us are ... Joaquin should leave the tooth beneath his pillow and enjoy the prize,” Fernandez wrote on Twitter.
Argentina has also exempted essential agricultural and export industry workers from the lockdown, and allows people on the streets to buy groceries and medicine, and for urgent medical needs.
The country has confirmed 158 cases of coronavirus and four deaths from the disease.
President Fernandez also took to the skies in a helicopter, tweeting a picture of himself surveying the capital city of Buenos Aires to check compliance with a lockdown order.
He thanked everyone who was staying at home and said: “To those who have not understood the seriousness of the problem we face, I warn you that we will be adamant in enforcing the law [on a lockdown].”
“Let’s keep taking care of ourselves in order to take care of everyone,” he tweeted.
