Buenos Aires, March 13 (RHC) Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez has decreed a national health emergency and announced a 27 million dollar increase of the health budget to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.

On a nationally televised address, the first since he took office, the president elaborated on the scope of the measure, adopted through a Decree of Need and Urgency (DNU).

Fernández offered a message to the entire population on Thursday, after the first three unimported cases of coronavirus were confirmed, reports Russia Today.

Fernández said that "measures will be implemented to facilitate the return of Argentines who are in the affected countries.

The Casa Rosada also ordered the suspension of all international flights from the areas most affected by the disease. It applies to all of Europe, the United States, South Korea, Japan, China, and Iran.

It instructs people entering the country from transmission areas, or who are considered "suspicious," to stay at home on a "compulsory" basis, and not to go to public places for 14 days.

Failure to comply with the quarantine will result in penalties, including imprisonment from six months to two years. "It is important that we understand that this isolation is preventative," the president said. He added that those who do not comply with the restriction "will have criminal responsibilities.