Colombia eliminates the mandatory use of masks in closed places and announces more measures

The government of Colombia announced this Monday that as of May 1, the use of the mask in closed places will not be mandatory in municipalities that have more than 70% of their population fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. coronavirus covid-19 nor will the vaccination card be required in mass and leisure activities.

In a statement he gave at the Casa de Nariño, the Colombian president, Ivan Dukesaid that the measure to eliminate the use of face masks will not be applicable in health services, nursing homes, public transport and the closed spaces of schools and other educational institutions.

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He also reported that As of this May 1, the vaccination card will no longer be required in public and private events of a massive nature.a measure that will also be applied in other places such as bars, gastropubs, museums, libraries and cinemas.

“All biosafety measures will also be repealed, with the exception of those that concern health systems and services”said Dukewho noted that the Sustainable Selective Isolation, Tracking and Testing (PRASS) strategy will no longer be implemented.

Referring to international travelers, the Colombian head of state said that it is advisable to “arrive in the country with complete vaccination schedules”.

“Those who do not have complete schemes or are not vaccinated will require a negative PCR test that is not longer than 72 hours. You can also present an antigen test that does not exceed 48 hours “he stated.

The president pointed out that despite the advances of Colombia in the fight against the pandemic, whose numbers of infections and deaths have been reduced to the levels of two years ago, when the covid-19 arrived in the country, it is necessary to take other measures.

So The health emergency in the national territory will be extended from May 1 to June 30, which allows the Government to take extraordinary measures if necessary.

The last time this measure was extended was last February, when a decree was issued to extend it until April 30.

Duque explained that all these measures are taken based on the progress of the National Vaccination Plan.

“We have more than 83% of Colombians with at least one dose, and we are just a few days away from reaching 70% of the country with a double dose,” he explained.

According to the president, of the 50 million Colombians, more than 11.2 million also have a booster dose.

The pandemic of coronavirus It leaves 6,091,343 infections and 139,778 deaths in the country so far, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.

Source: Elcomercio

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