National government announces new restrictive measures against covid-19

The President of the Republic, Iván Duque, announced a package of measures aimed at preventing a further increase in COVID-19 infections in Colombia. As he pointed out, “we had a meeting with the epidemiological expert committee, where the conditions in different regions of the country were assessed. Therefore, in the next few hours, we will issue a joint circular from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Interior in which the following clarifications will be made “:

“Today in Colombia we are making progress in the field of vaccination, but we must be clear, here it is necessary to combine pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures“Said President Duque in this regard, stressing that these decisions are in force from March 26 to 29 and from March 31 to April 5, so as not to have to experience a third severe peak in the coming weeks of April and in May.

Likewise, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Fernando Ruiz, declared that “we need to have a metric that seeks to control the possibility of growth of a peak in the next few days, a situation which would be quite critical and which would affect the entire Colombian population ”.

The concern comes after significant increases in the number of daily infections were detected in some territories, such as Medellín, where the UCI’s occupancy rate already exceeds 80.1%; Santa Marta and other towns on the coast, “where we see a peak that was generated closely related to the realization of carnivals, unauthorized parties,” Ruiz said, noting that the occupation in the capital of Magdalena is at 61 percent.

For his part, the Minister of the Interior, Daniel Palacios, stressed that it is a total of nine instructions for local leaders, including the two already mentioned.

The others, he says, understand ban on public events that provoke an agglomeration of people, the opening of discotheques and dance halls and “as mentioned by the Minister of Health, it is very important strengthen all control measures to avoid holding parties and meetings which are sites or sources of contagion ”. The above includes all kinds of in-person celebrations.

In addition, he pointed out that municipalities that have an intensive care unit occupancy rate greater than 80 percent “may limit operations or establish opening hours for beaches, piles and places like squares ”.

Regarding Easter, Minister Ruiz issued additional messages such as avoiding any visit to relatives who do not cohabit, because “people who come from another city to visit a relative have a very high probability of carrying the contagion“. However, if the trip is unavoidable, it is recommended not to spend the night in family homes but in hotels with biosecurity protocols.

On the traditional holiday trips of Holy Week, President Duque took the floor, who stressed that “It’s true, we already have a reactivation of tourism, let’s do it responsibly, without crowds, sharing with the mask if we have already purchased this tour. Otherwise, let’s try to take advantage of this holy week to remember, to be inside the house ”. For this reason, he announced that vehicle transit will be allowed during the return plan after the big week.

Finally, Ruiz pointed out that “Easter cannot be an excuse to relax”. In this sense, he explained that you can attend places of worship such as temples and churches, but it is recommended not to make processions and to maintain a physical distance.

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