Post by caliorbust on Mar 21, 2020 2:19:08 GMT -5
"We will apply mandatory preventive isolation for all Colombians from next Tuesday, March 24 at 11:59 p.m. until Monday, April 13 at zero hours," Duque said in a speech to the country in which he defended "drastic but urgent decision making"against COVID-19.
The president added that this measure does not suspend any of the preventive isolation drills that are underway in the country, such as the one in Bogotá that began this Friday and will run until midnight on Monday 23.
"This measure seeks for our society to protect ourselves, guaranteeing the supply of food, access to medicines, the adequate provision of essential public services, as well as those essential for the operation of society," explained the president.
The president added: "This is a measure for health and life, we know how much it requires of all of us and that is why it has been a slow and structured decision by experts. They are also measures to protect the most vulnerable "
"Coronavirus is a disease that spreads at full speed, but if we do the right thing we can stop its rate of expansion," he said.
Duque explained that the different measures to reduce social contact taken by his government have been guided by a "scientific and technical" team that has "analyzed the epidemiological trends that Colombia potentially faces in the coming weeks in relation to the coronavirus."
Preventive measures on the rise:
In recent days, the Government suspended for 30 days the entry of travelers from abroad, including Colombians, a measure that will take effect at zero hours on Monday 23.
It also suspended face-to-face classes in schools and colleges, ordered the borders to be closed, prohibited the meetings of more than 50 people, temporarily closed bars and clubs, but the gravity of the world situation led him to order quarantine today.
The government estimates that almost four million people in the country, 8.1% of the population, may be infected by COVID-19, according to the state of emergency decree signed this week by the president and all his ministers.
The figure of 3,989,853 people was arrived at based on contagion models without public health interventions, with a contagion rate of 2.68, according to Decree 417 dated March 17, 2020.
Shortly before the presidential address, the Ministry of Health reported that in the last few hours 13 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed, bringing the total to 158.
Of the new cases, nine are in Bogotá, two in Santa Marta, capital of Magdalena department, and the remaining two in Chía and Madrid, neighboring towns of Bogotá.
The president added that this measure does not suspend any of the preventive isolation drills that are underway in the country, such as the one in Bogotá that began this Friday and will run until midnight on Monday 23.
"This measure seeks for our society to protect ourselves, guaranteeing the supply of food, access to medicines, the adequate provision of essential public services, as well as those essential for the operation of society," explained the president.
The president added: "This is a measure for health and life, we know how much it requires of all of us and that is why it has been a slow and structured decision by experts. They are also measures to protect the most vulnerable "
"Coronavirus is a disease that spreads at full speed, but if we do the right thing we can stop its rate of expansion," he said.
Duque explained that the different measures to reduce social contact taken by his government have been guided by a "scientific and technical" team that has "analyzed the epidemiological trends that Colombia potentially faces in the coming weeks in relation to the coronavirus."
Preventive measures on the rise:
In recent days, the Government suspended for 30 days the entry of travelers from abroad, including Colombians, a measure that will take effect at zero hours on Monday 23.
It also suspended face-to-face classes in schools and colleges, ordered the borders to be closed, prohibited the meetings of more than 50 people, temporarily closed bars and clubs, but the gravity of the world situation led him to order quarantine today.
The government estimates that almost four million people in the country, 8.1% of the population, may be infected by COVID-19, according to the state of emergency decree signed this week by the president and all his ministers.
The figure of 3,989,853 people was arrived at based on contagion models without public health interventions, with a contagion rate of 2.68, according to Decree 417 dated March 17, 2020.
Shortly before the presidential address, the Ministry of Health reported that in the last few hours 13 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed, bringing the total to 158.
Of the new cases, nine are in Bogotá, two in Santa Marta, capital of Magdalena department, and the remaining two in Chía and Madrid, neighboring towns of Bogotá.