Bogotá mayor Claudia López confirms the capital will not lift its isolation measures at the end of this month.
With just days to go until the latest expected end to quarantine, Bogotá mayor Claudia López has announced the capital will continue the current lockdown until June 15.
Last night, President Iván Duque gave the country more details on what phase two will look like, including allowing children, young people and the over seventies to go out at certain times.
He also set out how the nation’s professional sports activities will restart. As long as they comply with health protocols, 17 individual sports disciplines will be able to restart. Individual football training can resume on June 8 and if things go well, the league could be re-activated in August behind closed doors.
What Duque did not elaborate on was the health minister’s earlier comments that the lockdown would continue in certain cities – including Bogotá. Today López confirmed this, tweeting a letter from the country’s health minister.
The letter confirms that, following discussion between the ministry and the mayor, the current mandatory lockdown in Bogotá will continue until June 15 without any additional openings. Bogotá entered quarantine on March 20, a few days earlier than the rest of the country meaning that by mid-June the city will have been shut down for almost 90 days.
There will be increased screening and health surveillance, and we can expect to see more text messages and online adverts encouraging us to use the Coronapp. The idea is that the app will help authorities to track and trace outbreaks of the virus.
Corabastos market, already the focus of media attention after reports that marketholders were charging for handwashing facilities, will come under even more intense scrutiny. Health surveillance in the market and the surrounding area will be increased.
With many small businesses struggling to pay rent and keep paying their staff, and workers struggling to keep food on the table, the question now is how authorities will enforce a continued lockdown and to what degree people will continue to follow the rules.
