Pending government clearance, Mayor of Bogotá announces 4: 3 plan to deal with third peak of pandemic

On the afternoon of April 5, after meeting with the Epidemiological Committee of the Ministry of Health (MinSalud), the Mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, announced that the 4: 3 scheme will be implemented to avoid the accelerated contagion of covid-19. Likewise, he explained that due to this determination, the other days would not enforce the nighttime curfew, but yes the “pico y cédula” will be implemented.

“There will be no curfew between 12 p.m. and 5 a.m., but there will be a 4: 3 regime. That is to say four days of study and work, without restriction. of mobility, and three days of general quarantine “ Lopez said.

The President explained that this measure would take effect from Thursday, April 8 from 10 p.m. to Monday, April 12 at 4 a.m. Then it would be repeated from Thursday, April 15 from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. until Monday, April 19 at 4 a.m.

It is important to mention that these measures are those proposed by the office of the Mayor of Bogotá, but in order to be implemented they must be approved by President Iván Duque. López assured that he expects the national president to deliver his verdict on the guidelines no later than 6:00 p.m. on Monday, and thus issue the decree immediately and that the rule begins to take effect from midnight and is extended until the 19th of the same month.

Of the same shape, It is expected that in this document the decision to continue to offer the medical teleconsultation service for patients who do not have serious ailments will be maintained. of health. This decision would be taken in order to decongest the health centers in Bogotá.

The decision to take further measures in the Colombian capital to deal with the coronavirus is due to the fact that In the past two weeks, the city, as well as the rest of the country, has seen an increase in infections with the virus. López even announced last Wednesday that the third peak of the coronavirus “has already started”.

At that time, no further restrictions were ordered, but citizens were urged to continue to take care of themselves. Indeed, the contagion rate, which should be less than 1, it rises to 1.1 in cities like Usaquén, Puente Aranda and La Candelaria, although in general the city is at 0.94. For example, for Saturday April 3, according to the official report from the Bogotá Mayor’s Office on the Saludata website, occupancy of intensive care beds in Bogotá due to covid-19 is 64.7%, with 1,508 intensive care beds occupied, out of a total of 2,331.

This Monday, at the end of Holy Week, there are more concerns that these numbers will increase, as thousands of Colombians took the opportunity to travel during this season, a fact that could help to spread the virus.

In Bogotá, at least 1.2 million people have left the city since last weekend and are returning there on Monday. To this population, the president asked that more than ever she isolate herself in the event of presentation of symptoms associated with the coronavirus and not expose herself to possible contagion these days. Taking into account that in January the majority of recorded infections and the second peak were due to the fact that citizens did not have preventive measures after traveling or being in places where there were crowds.

On the other hand, the president warned that the projections made would indicate that The most difficult point of this third wave could come during the last week of April, which is why he called on citizens to maintain personal care such as the use of masks, hand washing and if symptoms occur, maintain quarantine and report the case.

It should be noted that in addition to the meeting with MinSalud, López also called all PSAs and IPSs to a meeting at 6:00 p.m. to explore the possibility of maximizing intensive care capacity, number of tests and epidemiological barrier.

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